Rebel
by Roozu Doll
Summary: As a trouble-seeking teen, Ava winds up in the deep end of problems when she's sent to live with the Darquecaster family as punishment. There, she finds herself surrounded by five males with a secret that could deem more trouble than she's worth.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, prepare for this intense, emotional story.

Enjoy, read and review if you like.

**Chapter 1**

_A Feud Between The Past and The Present_

"Go faster! _Hurry_! They're gaining on us!" My best friend of two years squealed, clapping her hands together in thrilled excitement. I grinned widely, and sped up by ten MPH. The eerie sirens of the cop cars were behind us, wailing a warning to everyone around.

The moon was high in the sky now, glimmering against the street lights and basking the roads in glorious florescent lights. My red Corvette Z06 raced ahead of the cops, towards a dead end. This was my favorite part. I'd had my baby modified the year before, thanks to Ellyria's brother, Maximillion. I was at 198 MPH now. The large brick wall of the apartment complex came into view and Elly squealed in delight again.

Flashing lights popped into my rearview mirror and just a few yards from the guardrails and brick construction, I swung the wheel in a full three-sixty degree circle. I pressed on the breaks, hearing the screech of complaint from my baby. It came to a stop, and Elly and I watched as the three cop cars stopped in front of us. Their front doors all opened, and each cop was holding a gun in their hands.

They wouldn't shoot. They never did. I rolled my window down just a couple inches, so I could hear the front cop speak into his loudspeaker. His voice echoed through the vacant night.

"Please step out of the car with your hands up!" he ordered.

I gave an ignorant whistle, and then turned up my radio so loud that it made my ears ring. The song, "Breathe Into Me" by _Red _was on, and I couldn't help but smirk.

The cop repeated himself. One of the braver men began walking towards my car. I leaned over to Elly so she could hear me over the music. "Are you ready?" I asked, loud and clear. She turned and gave me a thumbs-up and a sheepish grin.

I turned back to the road with a triumphant grin on my face. I tapped my fingers on the wheel and waited just seconds until the brave man was meters from my car. I suddenly became glad for tinted windows and duct tape over license plates.

"Go!" Elly shouted. I spun the wheel all the way to the left, away from the man beside my car, and then slammed my foot on the gas pedal. Elly rolled down her window as we ripped out of the dead end and between two of the cop cars. The cops shouted in surprise, jumping out of the way to avoid being hit. Elly stuck her hand out the window, flipping the police a birdie.

My car was going well over 200 MPH, but I didn't slow down until we reached the highway to my house. Or, the highway to my hell, to be exact. I turned down the music and began laughing. Elly was clutching her sides and nearly in tears as she giggled and choked on her laughs.

"Oh God! That is so much fun! I'll never get enough of that! It's always different cops, too!" she snickered. I smiled over at her and raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah, remember Officer Don? I think I ran over his foot that last time."

Elly chuckled some more. "Avanni Maddox, you are a cruel woman." she joked. I gave an evil laugh.

"Yes, and you, Ellyria Schneider, are the only one who knows of my evil intentions!"

Elly snorted. "Well, unless you include Max…" she trailed off and winked at me. I kept my eyes on the highway, watchful of the other few cars driving at this time of night.

"Oh please, Maximillion only helps with boosting my baby's speed. He has nothing to do with my evil intentions." I stuck my nose in the air with a small smile adorning my face.

"I'm actually pretty sure he's _part_ of your sinister intentions, Ava."

I shrugged. "He's cute and all, but too obsessed with his cars and video games." I told her, pulling onto an exit. Elly eyed me from the corner of her eye.

"He likes you a lot though."

"Yes, and he's also a year younger then me." I reminded her, raising an eyebrow as if to question her almost-non-existent stupidity.

"No he's not! He's four months younger! He'll be seventeen in February!"

I smiled at her and chose to drop the subject. "I'm going to get one hell of a scolding when I get home." I muttered dryly. Elly rolled her eyes.

"You always get away with it though. I guess that's the luck with having an dad who is a sheriff and a mom who is the principal of our school." Elly reminded me. I drove into her driveway, where Max was sitting on the front porch, sucking on a lollipop and playing his DS. I shared a glance with Elly as he looked up and waved to me through the window.

"Should he be up at midnight?" I asked curiously. Elly gave a short laugh as she climbed out of my car.

"Of course not. Thanks for the amazing ride! See you tomorrow!" she said, and I bid her a goodbye as she shut the door. Max sent one last smile my direction, before him and Elly entered their two-story, light blue house.

I sighed heavily and pulled out of their driveway. My house was only a few blocks away. Elly had said I was lucky to have two supportive parents.

But they were foster parents.

Not even Elly knew that I had been molested and abused by my _real_ father. My biological mother had died at birth with me, and I grew up for twelve years, dealing with the brutal and vindictive father until finally I did something about it.

_I walked into my house skillfully quiet, sneaking around the bend of stairs to avoid my father's harsh, unforgiving eyes. The TV was on in the next room and I knew he was watching it; sitting on the couch and awaiting for my entrance. I stepped up the first stair, wincing when it creaked underneath my twelve-year-old weight. I paused a moment, waiting for the scratchy voice of my father._

_Nothing. I sucked in a deep breath and went to lope up the rest of them quickly, so I could succeed in getting to my room and lock the door behind me. _

_But my next steps never made it. A powerful hand latched onto my arm and jerked me off the stairs and onto the floor. I cried out in shock, seeing the bloodshot eyes of my angry father. _

"_What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he said angrily, and reached down to grab my by the shoulders. He lifted me up off the ground and shook me as if trying to knock the answers out of my brain._

"_Nothing!" I sobbed, tears dripping to the floor as they slid down my cheeks one after another. "I-I'm sorry! I just had to go to the bathroom!"_

"_And you can't even greet your goddamn father?" he snarled in my face. I was thrown back to the floor, this time sliding into the wall. My feet hit the small cupboard against the wall, shaking it. An antique plate slipped off of it and shattered against the hardwood floor. My dad roared in anger. "That was your mothers! What do you take me for? I raised you! I fed you! I gave you a roof to live under, and this is how you treat me?"_

_I was crying so hard I couldn't even open my mouth to reply. He leaned down and grabbed my cheek, forcing me to look at him. His hand touched the top of my collarbone as he suddenly smirked at me. _

"_Did I hurt you, honey?" he asked softly, caressing my cheek. Before I could say anything, his hand on my cheek pulled back swiftly and slapped me across the face. I cried out again, my head snapping to the side._

_There, I noticed the sharp shard of the porcelain plate. Out of the corner of my eye, my father raised his hand again. Before I rethought my actions, I grabbed the shard and flung my arm blindly towards the man that was my dad. Everything went silent then, and I heard the sickening sound of the sharp end of the porcelain stabbing into my fathers stomach. _

_I could hear cops in the background, as my father choked blood up on me. _

The memories were cold and always made me shiver. I would never forget the day I had finally stood up to him; my young mind having taking on the defense. To this day, he was alive and in jail.

My foster parents, Joshua and Rebecca, had taken good care of me since then. They put me into self-defense classes and even a karate class. I was a black-belt, and half the students at our school were afraid shitless of me. But it wasn't just because of my five years of training in those courses, it was because…

I was a rebelling, chaotic teenager who had a problem with authority and _constantly_ got into trouble.

Tonight was just one of those very many things I did to have some fun. I wasn't an immature, stupid teen who threw eggs at people's houses and cars and drew all over the school walls. Nope. I was the one who told the teachers off when I needed to, lit the bathroom on fire a couple times, locked the doors of the school to keep the teachers from coming in, and even sneaking out every other night to meet up with my friends to have the usual party.

The greatest thing I enjoyed was out-driving the cops. It was like showing off at the same time.

Want to know how I avoided them calling more on me? Tinted windows and duct tape on the license plates. I was sure I had broken the law a few times in the past month or two, but hell, it was worth it.

It took my mind off of my father.

I didn't want to be a sissy and hide in my bedroom, writing constantly in a diary and crying as to why God made it like this. No, I took drastic measures -all the damn time.

I finally arrived at my house and climbed out of my car. Before the lights went on in the house, I quickly tore off the duct tape covering my plates, and then threw it all into the garbage before entering my house. I walked past the living room with a heavy sigh, and then down the hall to my room.

"Uh-uh, you better stop right there, missy." Becca's voice ordered from behind me. Instantly, the living room light flashed on and I looked back in annoyance. My foster mother and father were sitting on the long couch, giving me intent stares.

"How are you guys on this fine night?" I greeted, waving a hand and then turning to continue to my room. They both gave an annoyed groan.

"Avanni Lane Maddox, stop right now!" Joshua said in a stern voice. I stopped walking, but refused to turn back. "Pray tell me you have _not_ been running from my men again."

I smirked, but it went unseen by them. "Running? Oh please, I went _driving_." I laughed. Then I opened my door. "G'night, see you in the morn'." I said, cutting off any of their replies. I shut my door behind me and quickly dressed into pajamas, before crawling under my dark violet comforter. I glanced out my window, at the high moon centered in the sky… and then fell asleep without a second thought.

The next morning, I made the normal routine. Shower, blow-dry hair, straighten it, apply eyeliner, and then grab my bag. I never ate breakfast, it was always lunch and dinner. I hopped down the stairs in a cheerful mood thanks to last night -besides the memories of my father-, and greeted my tired foster father. Becca had already gone to the school since she was the principal, but Joshua was eating bacon and eggs and reading the newspaper.

He looked up at me as I skipped into the room, and grabbed a glass of orange juice. His eyes trailed over my outfit and then back to my face with a grimace. "What in the world are you wearing?" he demanded. He must have forgotten about last night.

I looked down at my ripped, black skinny jeans and dark purple shirt with white words, saying, "I Consider Biting Foreplay" along the front of my chest. As I walked past him, finishing off my orange juice with my converse slapping against the tile, I grinned at him. Then I set my empty cup in front of him, turned, and walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

It was a habit not to answer when he commented on my clothing. He'd make even a bigger deal about it, and then demand I change. I slipped my bag over my shoulders and yelled my goodbyes to Joshua, before exiting the house and climbing into my car.

I met up with Elly and Max on the way and picked them up. Max sat behind me and Elly was always in the passengers seat. "So how did your night go?" Max asked me, curiosity edging his smooth voice.

Elly and I shared a look. Then I answered, "Well, it went amazing, like always."

Max gave a whine. "When will I be allowed to go?"

"When you turn seventeen."

Elly giggled. "See, Max, you only got a couple months left to go. Just be patient!" she told him, as we drove into our school parking lot. A lot of the student body eyes turned as my pretty Corvette drove into the usual parking spot. I spotted the most annoying girl of the school:

Sienna Murphy. She was the prep of course, and always managed to get the hot guys with that ditzy brain of hers that was no bigger than a walnut. How she succeeded to even pass her classes, I would never know. She gave my way a scowl, before turning back to her several boy toys. We climbed out of the car and approached the school. Elly and Max were chatting to each other about the night before.

School went by quickly, and by the time fifth period came around, after lunch, Elly and I were already tired. Of course, getting to sleep at midnight and having to wake up at five in the morning kind of interrupted the beauty sleep.

We sat down next to each other, talking in awe that none of the teachers had decided to get on my nerves today. When the bell rang, however, the teacher was the first to talk.

"Students! I would like to introduce a new student, a son of the new vice principal. It would be wise to treat him with the utmost respect."

Without turning to get a glance at the new kid, I snorted. Then I looked over as the class went quiet. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Standing at the front of the room, staring at me along with everybody else in the room, was the…I didn't even have a word to describe him. He was so handsome and dangerous looking at the same time, that part of me wanted to rape him right then and there, and the other part of me wanted to run away screaming.

But I never ran away from things. The teacher's glare hardened. "Is there something you find amusing, Maddox?" he demanded. I turned my now fiery gaze onto Mr. Butcher with an irritated expression.

"Yes. That being when I first came to the school, that you never said I needed to be treated with the utmost respect. And my mother is the _actual principal_." I reminded him. Mr. Butcher paled a bit. Before he could open his wrinkly mouth to retort, the new guy intervened.

"Miss Maddox," he began most diligently, in a charming way with a disarming smile, "my grandfather was the founder of this school. My father is good friends with Rebecca Maddox."

I could only stared at him. He had rendered me speechless. How many times had anyone managed to do that? The new guy gave me a small smile, and I suddenly wanted to gauge his soft green eyes out of his pretty head. I scowled at him and then turned away, not wishing to believe he had just embarrassed me.

Mr. butcher finally said, "_Anyway_… His name is Alexander Darquecaster. Please welcome him. Alexander-"

"Please, just Alec." he interrupted with another charming smile. Mr. Butcher nodded his apology.

"You may sit wherever."

Alec chose to sit on the opposite side of the classroom, just a couple seats back from Sienna. I made a face as I turned to Elly while Mr. Butcher went back to his lectures.

"He is an official asshole." I muttered under my breath. Elly flickered her dreamy gaze onto me. She had a goofy smile on her heart-shaped face. I nearly groaned.

"I think he was sex_aaaaayyyyy_!" she whispered dramatically. I stared at her, horrified. I loved her so much as a sister, and yet sometimes I wondered how I managed to when she acted like this.

We went back to feigning we were listening to Mr. Butcher. Just once, I looked back to watch Alec for just a couple moments. He was watching the board _and_ taking notes at the same time. Then suddenly, as if he sensed my gaze, he glanced over at me. I gave a curt glare and then went back to doodling in my notebook.

I was going to make his life a living hell.

Little did I know, it was going to be the exact opposite.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Live-in House Maid? This Is Exile!_

When fifth period ended and the bell rang through our ears, I was the first one out of my seat and packing my bag. All I wanted to do was get out of that class and away from Alec. Though he didn't look over at me anymore than that one time, I was still bothered by the fact his presence was in my school.

Erm, okay, so his _grandfathers _school. But it wasn't under his name, anyway! My foster mom was the principal, therefore we owned it. As I walked out of the classroom, I turned to _half _expect Elly to be following me.

_That_, however, was a disappointment to me. My chin nearly fell to the floor when my eyes caught sight of Elly talking to Alec. Her position and the way she held herself only told me one thing:

She was asking him out to a movie on Friday, four days from now.

How I knew that? Well, there was Jake, Justin, Damien, Brian and Matthew from before. Want to know what they had all replied? "_Sorry Elly, but your friend, Ava, is kind of creepy. I can't accept your offer_."

Yup. But still, Elly remained best friends with me, even if guys refused to date her because of me. I waited at the doorframe of the class as people passed by me. I watched with an annoyed expression as Elly began asking. Alec had a friendly, welcoming smile on his face and he appeared to be listening intently. As they spoke, I studied him.

He had a head full of pretty brown hair that seemed to shine in the light, and pale white-blue eyes with a shapely, angular face and straight nose. His hair reached the middle of his forehead and a little bit past his ears. I also noticed that the way he held his strong, lean body seemed superior amongst the rest of us. It almost annoyed me even more.

Elly stopped talking then, and Alec stared at her, as if contemplating. I inhaled a sharp intake of breath. This was where she was going to be denied.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when he gave a large smile and then nodded his head. Elly began jumping up and down and I could hear her squeals of delight. She glanced past him and to me, and then waved goodbye to Alec, only to run to me.

"OhmyGod, ohmyGod, guess what!" she laughed, grabbing my arm and pulling me after her as we walked to our last class.

"Um, lemme see, you asked him out to see a movie on Friday night, and he said yes?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Elly spun her head to look at me in surprise.

"Wow, you're a good guesser! Yes, that's right! I think he's the one!" she clapped her hands together and sighed dreamily. I blinked in confusion.

"The one?"

Elly threw her arms in the air and huffed. "My goodness! We need to get you a boyfriend! I meant he's the true love for me! He's the first guy to every go out with me! He wasn't scared of you!"

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe because he's _new_ and hasn't experienced what I can do?"

Elly stopped walking, and I trailed a couple steps ahead of her and then looked back. She had her arms crossed. "Do. Not. Ruin. This. For. Me." she grounded out between clenched teeth. I narrowed my eyes. What had her panties in a bunch?

"I wasn't planning on it. Don't worry about anything." I told her. _Other then I'm going to pin the blame on him for so many things that I do soon_.

Elly let out a relieved smile. Then she started skipping past me. "Hurry up! The bell's going to ring soon!" she called back to me. I stared after her in uncertainty. Students walked around me like a river dodged an island. I let out a frustrated breath and walked after her, just as the bell rang.

* * *

After school, I drove Max and Elly home. The whole way, Elly annoyed Max and I to no end as she bragged about her date with Alec. I almost couldn't believe this was Ellyria, my best friend. She had never acted this way about guys before. I was ashamed to say that I was relieved when I dropped them off.

When I arrived home, I went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a soda and a chocolate chip cookie. Then I walked to the living room, and stopped in my tracks.

"Oh, you're home. I didn't even hear you walk in." Joshua greeted me. He was sitting across from a woman with a clipboard and a pen. My heart started pounding against my chest. Where had I seen this before?

My mind flashed back to when the police were back at my old home, speaking to a woman holding a clipboard. They were talking about my new foster parents, Rebecca and Joshua Maddox.

The woman on my couch now, smiled up at me with red lips. Her brown eyes met mine and they were glittering. Her graying hair was twisted into a bun on the top of her head. She was of course wearing a business suit.

"Hello. You must be Avanni. It's great to meet you." she said in a soft voice. I pulled the cookie from my mouth and took a sip of my soda, before glaring at her.

"It's Ava." I corrected. Satisfied with her slightly surprised expression, I turned to Joshua. "What's going on? Who is this chick?"

Joshua narrowed his eyes. "Ava, that's no way to speak to Mrs. Mary Clines."

"I wasn't talking _to_ her, I was talking _about _her." I retorted. The woman, Mary, cleared her throat. We both looked at her.

"I should probably get going then. I need to go speak to the others." she told Joshua. He nodded in understanding and then they both stood up and shook hands. Mary walked past me without a second glance and out our front door. I focused my growing glare on Joshua, who walked into the kitchen. I followed after, munching on my cookie.

"So what the hell was that about?" I demanded. Joshua pulled out ham and cheese for a sandwich from the fridge.

"Language!" he reprimanded me, before taking down the bread bag from the cupboard. I leaned against our kitchen counter and bore holes into the back of his head with my eyes. Finally he heaved a sigh and turned to face me. "She's the same woman who gave you to us, all those years ago."

My eyes widened in surprise. "She was? But she looks so old now." I said. Joshua pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"She just came to…check up, I guess you could say." he told me. I nodded slowly, studying him for any lies.

"So… you aren't like…getting rid of me for being a badass daughter?" I asked. Joshua looked on at me in shock.

"Never! I would _not_ do that to you. Rebecca and I love you very much. It's just sometimes your rebellious nature gets in you into trouble too often."

I grinned in response. "Why thank you, Sheriff Maddox!"

He eyed me and then returned to making his sandwich. I smirked and looked up at the ceiling in boredom. "So how did school go today, Kiddo?" Joshua suddenly asked. I mused for a moment, and then pulled myself up onto the counter so I was sitting comfortably against it.

"Well, there's this new guy," I started, and Joshua peeked back at me with raised, curious eyebrows. I crinkled my nose and continued, "but he's an ass."

Now Joshua was listening. "Oh? And what is this 'asses' name?"

I smiled. "Alexander Darquecaster."

Joshua's own smile faltered and his eyes widened a bit. Quickly he turned back to his sandwich, and I could have sworn he muttered something like, "Already? Way too soon…"

But I dismissed it, not sure if that was what I had really heard. Instead I said, "He had a weird last name. He likes going by Alec too. And I guess his grandfather is the owner of my school, and Alec's father is now the vice principal. It's nice and all that he didn't kick mom out of the principal position, don't you think?"

Joshua shrugged a broad shoulder and took a couple bites from his sandwich. "I think I recognize that name. Becca has a friend who has that last name." he sighed.

"Oh yeah! That was right! He said his father was friends with her! Maybe that's why he let her remain in the principal's chair." I said, remembering how Alec had embarrassed me in front of the class. I frowned.

Before Joshua could reply, his business phone went off in a shrill tune. He cursed and excused himself to answer it. I waited patiently. "Yeah… okay… where at?" he pulled out a small pad of notes and a pen and started scribbling something down. Finally he bid his goodbyes to the person and hung up the phone. He smiled apologetically at me. "I just got a call from the office. I'm going to be out for a couple of hours. Don't do anything stupid."

With that, he gave me a quick hug and left the house. I sighed and glanced at the clock. Becca wouldn't get home for another couple of hours. So to pass the time, I walked to the living room and turned on the TV.

Time flew by and before I knew it, Becca walked into the house with a heavy sigh. I looked over the couch arm at her and smiled. "Hey there." I greeted. She smiled back and then brushed the slightly sweaty hair from her round face.

"Hopefully you aren't getting into nay trouble?" she mused, walking around the couch and setting her bags down next to the armchair. She collapsed into it with a relieved groan. I snorted.

"Why do you guys always assume I'm getting into trouble?" I asked innocently. Becca shot me a look. I grinned. "Okay, okay, stupid question, sorry. But nope. Dad just left like an hour and half ago. Said he had a call from the office."

Becca nodded in understanding. "What do you want for dinner?" she asked. I gave her a surprised look.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because I want tonight to be a special night. We can even stay up until midnight and watch horror movies." she suggested, giving me a cracking smile. I suddenly became curious.

"Okay, ever since that Mannie Clue chick came over earlier-"

"Mary Clines?!" Becca asked in surprise, shooting forward in her seat. "Already?!"

I sat up slowly, keeping my eyes on her. "What the hell? Ever since she came over, you and dad have been acting weird." I accused. Becca gave me a sheepish smile, but I saw the momentary guilt flash through her eyes.

"I just love it when you call us your mother and father." she sighed, and leaned over to hug me. I didn't embrace her back. She got the clue and leaned back with a frown on her face.

"What is going on? _Joshua_," I said his name instead just to irk her, "said she just came over for a check up with me…" I trailed off when I saw the full-blown guilt in Becca's face. My eyes widened slightly, and my heart dropped to my stomach. "It wasn't for a check up, was it?" My voice was weak and shaky.

Becca bit her bottom lip, furrowing her eyebrows. "Just don't worry about anything, okay?" she told me, and then stood and left the living room. Immediately, I shot out of my seat and chased after her.

"Please don't do this to me! I'm sorry! I'll be good! I like it here! I'll stop vandalizing the school, I'll stop back-talking the teachers, I'll stop sneaking out at night! I'll even stop…" I took a nervous breath and winced. "I'll even… I'll even stop driving away from the cops like yesterday night."

Becca gave me a horrified expression. She came over to me and wrapped me into a hug. "Honey…those things don't just _stop_." she mumbled into my hair. I froze.

"You're getting rid of me?"

At that moment, Joshua came through the door, accompanied by another man, who looked handsome and well-kept. His dark hair was slicked back and was slightly longer than Joshua's, whose hair reached the tops of his ears. He had familiar pale blue eyes and pale skin. And he was _tall_. Joshua had a pained look on his face when he saw me.

"We aren't _getting rid_ of you." he corrected. He was trying to sound bold, but his voice wavered. The man behind him kept his eyes on me the whole time, not even blinking once, it seemed. He looked a bit older, maybe mid twenties. And maybe if he smiled, he'd be sexy.

My eyes met Joshua's again, and I knew what was coming. "Yes, you are." I bit back the tears, not wanting to cry over this. I never cried. I hadn't cried since the night I finally rid myself of my biological father. Joshua frantically shook his head.

"No, Avanni. You'll still be a Maddox. But we're sending you to live with the Darquecaster's as a live-in maid. It will be punishment." he told me, sternly.

My mouth fell open. Relief flooded through me because I wasn't going to be given up to another family, but a live-in maid? And for the _Darquecaster's_?! My eyes narrowed. "You have got to be kidding me." I hissed through clenched teeth.

The man behind Joshua finally stepped forward and held his hand out to me. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Claude Darquecaster, father of Alec and others."

I stared blankly at his hand for what seemed like hours, until he finally got the picture and dropped it back to his side. I twirled on my heel to face my foster parents. "_This is _not_ punishment! This is _exile_! Exile I tell you!" _I shouted angrily. Becca actually produced a small smile on her face from my frantic frustration.

"It isn't exile; stop being so dramatic." Joshua told me, annoyed.

I faced him in shock. "You're sending your innocent daughter to live with strangers! That is ex-"

Joshua covered my mouth with a finger and "shushed" me. "They are not strangers. They're old family friends. It's only for a year, and when you come back, everything will be fine again!"

I exploded. "A year?!" I yelled. "This is torture!" Then I pivoted and pointed an accusing finger at Claude. He looked slightly surprised at my offending appendage. "There is no way in hell you're making me become a-"

* * *

"No! I said I'll never become a damn maid! Never in my life! Let me go! Heeeeeeeelp!" I shouted, my voice echoing throughout the neighborhood. I struggled and hit Joshua with all my might as he carried me over his shoulder to Claude's black Mercedes. I even leaned over and bit the back of Joshua's shoulder.

"Ow!" he gasped, and dropped me to the ground right in front of the passenger's open door. "Get in, Ava!"

"No! I'll get raped! I'll get abused! Somebody help!" I cried out as I stood and tried to run around Joshua. He quickly caught me and threw me into the passengers seat. I landed with an "oomph" and then I screamed at the top of my lungs, "RAAAAPE!"

Joshua slammed the door in my face. I collapsed against the seat and knew I had been defeated. I glared out the shaded windows as Joshua bid his goodbyes to me through the window and then Claude opened the driver's door. He climbed in and started the car.

"Your luggage is in the trunk." he reassured me. I only glared the opposite way, ignoring him. As we drove away from my house, Becca and Joshua blew kisses toward me and waved. I resisted breaking the window and flipping them off.

I glanced over at Claude, who was intent on watching the road and then crinkled my nose. "So you're son is Alec." I stated quietly. He nodded his head. "Well, he's a dick." I added, and then looked out the window. I heard Claude chuckle slightly, and then it was quiet.

My life had just taken a turn for the worst, and Alec was going to laugh in my face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Gargantuan House And The Gorgeous Guys?

"You know, last time I checked, this was a free country." I had been chattering away for the past ten minutes of the car ride about the most random things. A part of me was hoping it would annoy Claude so he would send me back, and another part of me was just nervous and angry all at the same time. We had left my neighborhood and was now just on the outskirts of Canby.

Claude cast me a curious glance out of the corner of his eye. "It may be free in some aspects, but for all of the illegal things you've done, I believe even a judge would condemn you to this punishment."

"Exile." I corrected. Claude chuckled.

"So do you wish to know about your new roommates?" he asked. I gazed out the window and watched as tree farms passed by the small forests in the distances. There were fields and horses and cows and barns and I suddenly wondered…

"I wish to know where the hell we're going! Why in the world are we so far from the school?" I demanded, spinning in my seat to glare at Claude. "I'm beginning to think you're betraying us and taking me to some worn-down warehouse to kill me!"

Much to my fear, Claude let out a roar of laughter. I stared at him in horror. Finally, after a couple moments, he cleared his throat and shook his head. "No, no. I wouldn't want to ruin your trust. But if you insist…" he glanced at me with raised eyebrows and I shot back away from him so my side was against the window.

"N-No, I'm fine with how everything is going now." I let out a shaky laugh. Claude smirked, and I couldn't help but blush. Then I reprimanded myself This guy was probably thirty years old! I studied him as he drove. But he sure didn't look it.

"Why are you staring at me?" he suddenly asked, shocking me. I quickly averted my gaze.

"I was actually just wondering how old you are." I said boldly. Well, half my life I had grown up being bold. Claude let out another chuckle.

"I just turned thirty-seven four days ago. Why?"

I turned the opposite way to hide my embarrassed blush. "I -err, though you were like twenty…but that had to have been impossible. I mean, you don't even look a day past twenty-one!" Oh man, I hated babbling senselessly. We suddenly turned onto a narrow, gravel road, shadowed by the large forest of trees hovering over us.

"Thank you… I think." he replied. "Now, please keep a leash on your jaw."

I looked at him in confusion. "Huh?" I asked, as the car went down a small hill. I suddenly knew what he meant. The Darquecaster house was more like an up-to-date twenty-first century castle! It hovered at least five stories off the ground, and the exterior was painted a dark, stone gray. Around the base of the house starting and ending at the colossal front door was a dark red brick embroidery. The awning that shadowed the porch was held up by two large shafts that were decorated by green vines with leaves.

Leading up to the door were three dark-wooded steps that conjoined with the wrap-around porch. My eyes traveled up the length of the house, to each spectacular rounded window that had white windowsills. Surrounding the whole house was the forest of leaning and swaying trees.

"Wow." I choked out unbelievably. Claude opened his door when I finally managed to hold my mouth closed, and he popped the trunk. I leapt out of the car, suddenly excited to be here. I couldn't wait to see the inside!

"I tried to warn you." Claude muttered, grabbing my suitcases and walking to me. "Come on." he motioned for me to follow with his head, and I quickly trailed after him. He opened the door and allowed me to walk in first. When I did, I was robbed of my breath.

This was definitely _not_ the house that I wanted to ruin. Everything was either different shades of gray, red, black, brown or white. At first thought, someone would think these people had no taste in colors. But their style is infinite and wonderful. Even though the outside appeared to be updated, the inside looked like over exaggerated monument. The first floor was the largest from ground to ceiling, probably around twenty feet. The hall we walked through was wide and roomy, and at the end sat a large stereo, a few doors, and a night table.

I almost paused when I heard voices coming from the room at the end of the hall. I glanced behind me and Claude nodded for me to walk on. I followed the voices and ended up in a large living room with a plasma television that was currently showing a video game. There were several people sitting on the three couches, as well. As if I had just run into the living room and screamed, "Surprise!", they all looked over at me.

I realized they were all guys, and Alec sat on the farthest end of the couch on the opposite side of the room. There were four guys in all, not including Claude. My jaw dropped. Please somebody tell me I didn't have to live with them! Not to mention they were all drop-dead gorgeous!

Claude appeared beside me and set down my luggage. "Boys, I would like you to meet our newest house maid, Avanni Maddox."

"Ava." I managed to correct him, while still staring shock at the guys. Claude glanced over at me with another smirk.

"I asked if you wanted to know about them!" he reminded. I blinked and quickly closed my mouth.

"I -uh…hi."

_Great_. My first time being confronted by a room full of the male gender, and all I could do was stutter and then say _hi_? I was officially an idiot. Alec was the first to speak up. "What a pity," he began, "that _Miss Maddox_ was embarrassed not once, but twice in one day. I feel so…empathetic." That was sarcasm. That was _definitely_ sarcasm!

I gritted my teeth and glared at him, suddenly ignorant of the others in the room. He had a defying smirk on his pretty face. "Alright, Mister Darquecaster," I said. _Two can play at this game_. "I understand your wanton need for me, but I don't go for guys like you."

He didn't seem taken back, but the guy next to him gave a snort. "She just insulted you, Alexander."

I looked over at the guy who just spoke and studied him. He had short, spiky blonde hair and the same, pale blue eyes. His face took the same shape as Alec's, but his lips were a bit more fuller. Then I noticed he was staring right back at me. He gave me a toothy smile and waved a hand at me. His other hand held a video game controller. "Yo, what's up? I'm Brent."

I gave a weak smile and waved back. Why did I feel so foolish in front of them, but not Claude or Alec? Maybe because I didn't know how far I could push their buttons until they exploded. I looked back at Alec finally to see him scrutinizing me.

"You aren't my type either. I go for the more sophisticated…and…" he eyed me from head to toes, making me feel self-conscious, until he finally finished with, "and much more curvy and filled."

I could have sworn my eye twitched. What was wrong with my body? I had large breasts, and lots of curves! _Jerk_! I tilted my head so my nose was in the air. "Sophistication is boring." I retorted. Before things could get vicious, Claude put a large hand on my shoulder.

"How about I show you to your room, and then we can all introduce one another later?" he suggested, giving a curt glare towards Alec. He crinkled his nose in distaste and turned back to the video game as Brent unpaused it. Claude led me past them and down another hall; but as we did so, my eyes landed on the green-eyed, dark haired hottie sitting across from Alec and Brent. He was watching me with his hawk-like eyes as I passed by, and I felt as if he were undressing me with them.

I quickly turned away as we entered the hall. _Creepy_.

"Your room is on the third floor." Claude told me as we walked up a spiral staircase. The railing was smooth wood and was held up by ivory posts. We walked to the second floor, but to my surprise, he stopped at a door.

"I thought you said the _third_ floor." I reminded him, as he opened the door. He threw me a welcoming smile.

"This _is _the third floor." And then he disappeared into the room. I looked about in confusion. We had only walked up one staircase though… Nevertheless, ignoring Claude's hopeless counting skills, I walked after him. I nearly buckled at the knees.

The bed, in the center of the room, was _huge_. It was covered in blankets and pillows that were all a soft looking white and gray. At each corner of the bed were long posts that held up a flat canopy that covered the bed in shadows. Draping from it were red mosquito nets that surrounded the bed all the way around. It was _beautiful_.

In the room was also a bedside table with a vase of newly picked roses and a paper that spelled "Welcome" on the front. To the far right of the large room was a dresser and a body mirror that stood beside it. Another door, which I assumed was the closet, stood juxtapose the mirror.

"When will this house ever stop surprising me?" I gasped. Claude set my suitcases on top of the dresser and turned to me.

"It won't, trust me." he said seriously. I smiled in response.

"Well, I dunno whether to thank you for stealing me or to kill you." I replied, approaching the netting around my bed. I ran a finger over it and grinned like a maniac. This was all so new to me! And awesome! I felt like a rich person! I turned back to Claude with a question. He had a large smirk on his face. Before I could ask anything, he said,

"I think you'd find it impossible to kill me."

I laughed and moved the netting aside to sit on the bed. It was comfy! "Anyway, when you said this was the third floor, I couldn't help but wonder if you suck at math…"

Claude laughed softly. "Oh, we have a basement that's just as large as our first floor. It's underground though." he said. My eyes lit up. I _loved_ basements and attics! They were always so terrifying and I enjoyed danger -of course.

"Can I see it? Can I?" I begged, shooting up to my feet. Claude's face went serious again.

"I'm afraid not. Only us Darquecaster's can go down there. We have some old, private…gallery items down there. Not to mention sometimes the basement door closes on its own and becomes stuck. There's been something wrong with it since the day we bought this house. Door jam sticking or something like that…" he trailed off and I raised an eyebrow, clearly disappointed.

"So why don't you fix it?" I asked. Claude merely shrugged a shoulder. Finally he walked by me and paused at the doorframe to look back at me.

"Want to go greet the others now?" he questioned. I nodded and trailed after him.

"Do I get permission to kick Alec's ass if he continues being a smartass?" I inquired innocently, walking next to him. Claude snickered.

"You can try."

"I can succeed." I righted him.

"You are a strange organism." Claude muttered under his breath. I smiled brightly.

"I would say strange is my middle name, but badass is already-" I froze and stopped walking in midstep. Claude stopped after a couple steps ahead of me and looked back in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

I had suddenly realized something. This house was gargantuan. I was the only maid. I put my hands to my hair and yanked at it as I shouted in astonishment, "_I have to clean this damn place_?"

Joshua, Becca, the Darqeucaster's were going to work me to _death_.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Don't worry, my G.O.D. readers, the next chapter I upload will be of Guardians of Darkness! It just took me awhile to plan the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_What Is She Going To Think About This?_

There was Alec, Claude, Brent, Lukas, and Rylan. I found out Rylan was the one with green eyes who had been staring at me before. Brent and Lukas were the video game suckers, and Rylan seemed very… quiet and studious. Ever since Claude and I had sat on the loveseat in the center of the couches, Rylan had avoided my gaze. His hair was long, past his ears and pushed to the side of his face in ebony locks. For now, he was looking away from me, the hair covering his face.

I was so tempted to reach over and move it out of his eyes. Lukas had a head full of curly hair the color of Alec's, but darker blue eyes. If he had the same hair and same eye color, I was sure they could be twins.

None of them except Brent seemed interested in me. At the current moment, Lukas and Alec were playing the game now, and Claude was chatting softly on his cell phone to one of his business employees.

"So how often do you do that?!" Brent asked me in astonishment. I had just finished telling him about the other night when I took my pretty Corvette -that I wasn't going to be allowed drive for a whole year- out for a chase with the cops. He seemed pretty interested too.

"Every Sunday." I said, smirking. Brent grinned in response. We were connecting pretty well. I had a feeling we could break the rules together. "My best friend Elly wants to do it _every_ night, but…" I trailed off and sneered over at Claude. He glanced warily at me and then raised an eyebrow. I looked back to Brent. "Now I'm facing a tragic exile."

"Exile? Is that what you call it?" Brent burst out laughing. I found that I admired him. Suddenly I had a question.

"Don't you other guys go to my school? Alec does."

Brent nodded. "Alec went in early. Tomorrow is our first day, because we just flew in from Jersey."

My mouth dropped. "You've been to New Jersey?!" I gasped. He smiled and nodded again.

"It's pretty great. Alec always goes wherever Claude goes though, so we came late. The rest of us were visiting our mother, Cassidy."

I mused over it. "That's cool. I wish I knew my mom." I suddenly felt kind of sad. I wondered what my mom had been like before she died. Was it her who had kept my dad in line before? Or had he raped her? I shuddered. Brent seemed to sense my discomfort and frowned.

"You don't know your mom?"

"No. She died at birth with me."

"What about your dad? I know you live with your foster parents, Josh and Becc." he shortened their names, and I wondered if he was good friends with them like Claude.

"I don't like talking about him." I replied shortly, my voice going monotone. Brent leaned back and shrugged.

"I can understand. Some things are meant to be kept in secret."

As soon as he said that, everything in the room went quiet, if only for a moment, and I could have sworn that everyone else in the room glanced cautiously at Brent. But within short moments, everything was back to normal; Claude talking into the speaker of his phone, Lukas and Alec arguing over the video game, and Rylan went back to reading his book.

Finally, after a silence between Brent and I, Claude snapped his phone shut and leaned over to me. "Are you hungry?" he asked quickly. I looked over and nodded. Come to think of it, my stomach had been growling for awhile now. "Follow me." Claude stood and then walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen was just as large as the living room. It connected to a dining room which held a large table with a chandelier over it. In the center of the kitchen was a counter island with a sink and a built-in cutting board. Claude walked to the fridge and opened it.

"We just bought new food for you. None of us knew what you would like, so we just assumed. You can choose anything you want." he motioned for me to look into the refrigerator. I ended up pulling out delicious roast beef lunchmeat and cheese for a sandwich. Good enough for dinner, right? Besides, I didn't feel like cooking anything, and Claude hadn't offered.

"What about the rest of you?" I asked.

"We eat later in the night. But since you're a girl and you're younger than all of us, you have to get to sleep earlier, except on the weekends and the days you have to clean."

I ignored his rude, sexist comment and instead I took a bite of my sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. "What days do I have to clean?"

Claude leaned back against the island and smirked at me. "Everyday ending with 'y'." he said. My face dropped in annoyance.

"Seriously."

"Well, you have to do one different chore everyday. Like the floors, cleaning the kitchen or bathroom, dusting everything and so on and so forth. Oh, and don't clean anybody's rooms unless you have permission by them."

I nodded in understanding. Well, at least it wasn't cleaning the _whole_ house _every_day. "Easy enough." I finished off my sandwich. "Well, I'm going to go put my things into my dresser. Would you mind if I use the shower before I went to sleep?" I asked before leaving the kitchen. Claude smiled and shook his head.

"Of course not. You need to bathe, don't you?"

I agreed and left the kitchen to run upstairs. It took me a good hour to sort through my clothes and put them in the dresser. Halfway through, Claude ran to my room with a newly bought alarm clock and even set it up for me. It was nearing nine at night. I realized time had flew by. I grabbed my black and pink pajama shorts, underwear, and my black tank-top, before walking to the bathroom. Sitting on the counter was a pile of clean, nicely folded towels. I took one and hung it beside the shower door.

The shower was large and it connected with a huge bathtub that looked really welcoming. But I was tired so I wanted to get done quickly. I grimaced when I saw the only things in there were shampoo and a tube of soap. I knew one thing was for sure, I needed to go _shopping_.

With I sigh, I finished my shower and dried off and dressed into my pajamas. I quickly brushed through my hair with my brush that I had brought and winced every time I ran it through a knot. This was why conditioner was a necessity! I groaned. My hair was going to look horrible tomorrow.

Before I leaned down the sink to brush my teeth, the door burst open. I screamed and spun in shock to face the intruder. I could still be naked for all he knew!

"Oh shit! Uh, sorry, I forgot you were here." It was Lukas. He gave me a sheepish grin. I raised my hands in the air.

"Ever heard of knocking?! I could have been dressing… or even _undressing_!" I shouted. Lukas stepped into the bathroom, softly pushing me to the side of the sink. I stared at him in bewilderment. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

"That would have been a great sight to see." Lukas suggested, wiggling his eyebrows toward my direction. My mouth fell open in shock. Before I could shove him to continue brushing my teeth, Alec walked in. Both him and Lukas started brushing their teeth, acting as if I weren't there.

"Um, hello? Shouldn't there be _other_ bathrooms around here?!" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. I remembered I hadn't put a bra on, and my tank-top was thin.

Alec glanced over at me with his tooth brush in his mouth and foaming white bubbles. "Mnoop." he mumbled incoherently back to me. Lukas smiled over at me after he finished.

"What he said was, nope. All the other bathrooms are downstairs or upstairs. This is the _guys _bathroom." he grinned as he spoke.

"W-what the… You guys are stupid!" I hissed. I shoved against Alec to make him move, and reached for my own toothbrush. Not even seconds after I had, his hand found my wrist in a tight grip and he spun me around. The next thing I knew, my back was flush against the sink counter and Alec was leaning against me, smirking down at me. He had gotten rid of his toothbrush finally, and somehow the foam a his mouth had vanished. Not to mention I found out he was _really_ tall, just like Claude. He had to have been at least six-foot-four compared to my measly five-two.

"Are you going to make us get out of your way?" he asked slyly, leaning down so our noses were touching. I heard Lukas give a low whistle. He was watching the scene as if he were enjoying a porn moment.

I glared angrily up at Alec. Then an idea hit me like a ton of bricks. My glare turned into a smirk and my eyebrows went up. Eagerly, I pressed against Alec and moved so our lips were a hairs-width apart. He looked surprised a moment. "And how would you suggest I do so?" I breathed. I was suddenly wondering if this was a mistake. He smelled heavenly. Sure I had kissed plenty guys before, but they had all been drunk and smelt like alcohol. So it didn't really get too far.

A smirk appeared on Alec's mouth. "You tell me, Rebel." he made to lean forward, and that was when I went into action. Quickly, I brought my foot up and then smashed it down as hard as I could on his toes. In surprise and probably pain, he yanked back and hissed at me. I paused, shocked at the inhuman sounding noise, and then laughed.

But my laughter was cut off instantly when I saw Alec's pupils grow to the size of his iris's. I gasped, watching with wide eyes as his face twisted into a feral smile. He looked like he could eat me. Then I saw the muscles in his arms bunch, as if he were about to pounce on me. I stood rooted to my spot, staring at him.

"No! Stop!" Lukas suddenly yelled, and grabbed Alec around the shoulders. He pulled him away from me and Alec let out a growl, but didn't struggle. "Sorry about that. He has a short temper." Lukas apologized and then disappeared down the hall with Alec. I could only watch after him, frozen.

Had I really seen that? I was sure it was impossible for your pupil to expand to the point your whole iris was pitch black, right? I put a hand to my head and blinked.

"Wicked cool." I murmured, and smiled brightly. If Alec could do that with his eyes, that was awesome! I gave a silent laugh and turned back to the sink to brush my teeth. Afterwards, I crawled into bed and fell into a deep sleep, unknowingly to the lingering smell of musk and waterfalls.

* * *

"_No! Please! I promise I'll be good! I won't kill anymore! Please!" the man begged. His wrists were in chains and he appeared to be in a dark, eerie dungeon that reeked of death and blood._

_The tall figure stood over the kneeling man; his arms crossed defiantly as he studied the beggar before him. "And how can I be so sure? How can _any _of us be sure?" he demanded, his voice harsh and echoing through the dungeon. That was when four other silhouettes appeared, each standing next to each other. Somehow, the voice of the standing man sounded awfully familiar, but echoed too much to tell._

_The man in chains broke into a dry sob and let his head fall down in defeat. There were no tears. "Just kill me already…" he cried out. The standing man who had spoken before let out a cruel laugh._

"_My pleasure. No longer will the rest of your filthy kind hunt down the humans." he snickered, and then without a moments hesitation, slammed his hand straight through the man's chest. The chained man let out a gurgling scream that filled the night air as the other yanked his arm up through his head, splitting his top half into two pieces._

I woke up screaming at the scene. I panted as I stared across my room through the red netting at my door. I wasn't in a dungeon. I was in my new room at the Darquecaster's mansion-like house.

What the fuck kind of dream was that, anyway? I had never had horrific nightmares. My nightmares usually consisted of being chased by clowns, for Heaven's sake! My door suddenly flung open and Claude burst in, looking quite disheveled in sweats and a t-shirt with hair disarray and such.

"What?! What is it?!" he demanded eagerly. Swiftly and before I knew it, he went to my side and leaned over my bed. He grabbed my wrists before I could answer and turned them over, as if studying them. Then he pushed my head back despite my protests, and looked at my neck.

"What are you doing?!" I hissed, pushing him away. He pulled back and exhaled.

"You screamed…and…and I thought that something got to you." he muttered, standing up fully and brushing through his hair.

"I had a nightmare." I replied, irritated. Why the hell would he look at my wrists and neck, though? Claude looked relieved. All of a sudden Brent was at my door, though he didn't look quite disheveled. Instead, he had a new pair of jeans and a sweater on. His hair was neatly spiked and he glanced into my room.

"Why'd you scream?" he asked.

"Nightmare." Claude replied for me. I nodded in agreement. Brent smirked.

"Afraid of a little darkness?" he asked teasingly.

"Shut it. It's probably because this is a new place. Maybe it's from looking at your face." I snapped angrily. Brent laughed.

"Yeah okay. Well, it's time for you to get up anyway. You never set your alarm clock, and there's only an hour until school starts I think." he said, and then left my room. Claude left shortly after and closed my door behind him. I sighed and climbed out of bed, turning to look at my clock. I furrowed my eyebrows and reached over to press the alarm button to see what it was set to. I had never set it? The button made a clicking noise and I glared at it in annoyance.

Grumbling incoherently, I went to my dresser and pulled out a pair of my skinny jeans and a plain red tank-top with a black shirt over it. I then sat on my bed and picked up my socks and shoes. I was about to put on my second shoe when suddenly it dropped out of my hands.

I stared at it, and then looked over at my alarm clock as I remembered exactly what Brent had said. _How the hell had he known I hadn't set my alarm clock_?! I screamed in my mind.

Either he snuck into my room and checked, or he's a damn good guesser. Because for one thing, I never set my alarm before seven, and it was currently six-thirty-one. I sighed bitterly and slipped on my shoe before walking out of my room. My bag was slung over my shoulder, packed full with books from the term. This was all going to be a disaster.

These guys going to my school! Would they bother me like Alec?! Would they embarrass me everyday of my life now?! I paused at the top of the staircase and my mouth opened in wonder.

What was Elly going to think of all this?!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_The Big, Bad Wolf and Max! "Woof! Woof!"_

Lukas drove us to school in a nice blue sports car. Alec and Brent sat in the back with me, and Rylan sat in the passengers seat. I had yet to even _hear_ his voice. I wondered if he was mute. Brent, to my left, was busy texting on his Blackberry, and Alec on my right was staring out the window in boredom.

Lukas was singing words along with some song, and he was actually pretty good. I found it interesting to listen to him instead. After long, agonizing minutes in the car, we finally drove into the school parking lot, and oh _goody_, half the student body was going to witness me climbing out of this hot car with four _hot_ guys.

Just as I had expected, as soon as Lukas's car parked, everybody out front of the school turned to stare. I gulped. Suddenly something black was shoved into my face. I pulled back in surprise to see Alec holding his sweater out to me. "What is this for?" I demanded.

"You can cover your face. That way nobody will know it's you." he finished with a smirk on his face. I shoved him away and climbed out on Brent's side, but not before adding,

"Your face needs it more than mine."

I sucked in a nervous breath as Brent and I first walked up to the school together. The others tailed behind us, and I could feel Alec's insulted glare on me.

"Well _hello_. There are tons of sexy ladies here." Lukas murmured behind me. I stopped walking and spun on him. To my surprise, he stopped centimeters in front of me. The other guys stopped after a few steps to look back at us in wonder.

"This is _my_ school right now. I don't care if Claude is the vice or your gramps owns it. If you guys fuck up my reputation, I'm fucking up your lives like I've promised to do so to Alec." I hissed quietly enough so only the guys could hear. Lukas's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"Wow, okay, damn. No need to get an attitude!" he laughed and raised his hands innocently. I spun on my heel and began walking again. Alec caught up with me this time.

"When did you promise that?" he asked curiously as we walked past the crowds of stereotypical people who stared at us as if we were aliens. I couldn't help but notice that some of the girls were ogling the guys, and I almost laughed in their faces because _I_ was the one living with them all!

"I promised it the first day I saw your hideous face." I replied. I lied about the hideous part, of course. Alec raised an eyebrow at me.

"Careful, I wouldn't say that around Elly." he tsk'ed. I looked at him in confusion as we neared the main office for the other guys.

"What do you-"

"_Avanni_!" Elly's voice squealed. I pivoted on my heel just as she tackled me into a bear hug. I smiled and hugged her back.

"Hey." I greeted. She pulled back and looked straight into my eyes, not even comprehending the guys.

"Where the hell did you go?! Joshua and Rebecca said you won't be living there for awhile?! Where did you move to?!" she demanded, crossing her arms. I sighed. Well, here it goes! I motioned behind her, where the four drop dead gorgeous guys waited patiently for my attention…and hers. Not to mention they looked a tad annoyed.

Elly turned and her mouth dropped. "Alec!" she gasped, and then ran to him. He grinned and embraced her small frame to his larger one. I rolled my eyes. She was kind of dense sometimes.

"I'm living with the Darquecaster's." I helped her out. Elly froze. Here it came. The big, bad wolf nicknamed Elly. She turned slowly, and I half expected her to be wearing a psycho expression such as a twisted, killer grimace…or something like that. My face went rigid and I held my breath as she turned her scrutinizing gaze on mine.

I was disappointed when the words that came out of her mouth weren't something along the lines of, '_Why so serious…Ava dear_?' Instead, she simply said, "Alec is mine. You will do well to remember that." she stated. I grimaced. There she went again. Alec leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and I resisted grimacing _again_. He barely knew her and he was treating her like a princess already!

Elly giggled and then turned back to me. Hugging me tightly once more, she said, "Well, I'll see you later! Bye!" And then she skipped off. I stared after her. Alec suddenly brightened.

"Ah, that's right. I forgot I had first period with her. Catch ya later, Avanni." he threw me one last smirk and walked after my besty. I glared after him.

"It's Ava to you, jerk!" I retorted. He ignored me.

"So… are we going to be forced to watch more drama or…" Brent began, tapping his foot impatiently. I smiled over at him, suddenly remembering they were there. I turned and motioned for them to follow. We walked to the office, where the secretary and nurse were chatting. When we walked in, they glanced over and pointed to the principal's office. I nodded my thanks and headed to Becca's big room.

"Hello! How has it been so far?" Becca asked me first thing as we walked in. I hugged her and then pulled back.

"Terrible." I replied bitterly. Lukas's mouth dropped open and he put a hand to his heart.

"But you said last night was-"

I stomped on his toe-not that hard though-, and he bit his tongue and glared at me. I smiled innocently back. Becca let out a laugh. "Oh my, you guys are already bonding! How adorable. Here are your schedules, by the way. I managed to get each of you a class with Ava." she said. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head.

"You what?!" I shouted in a whisper. Becca grinned.

"I love you. Now get to class." she shoo'd us out of her office and I turned to the guys.

"Great. I was hoping school would give me a break from you guys at least a little!" I groaned in frustration.

"Hm, I have first period with you." Lukas mentioned. I looked over his arm to glance at his paper and I nearly twitched in annoyance. Becca had _deliberately_ scribbled in her notes as to which classes they had with me. I sighed.

"Well then, new first period buddy, let's head to class, shall we?" I asked dryly, and Lukas wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Yes, let us go, Rebel!" he pointed down the hallway. I shot him a glare from the corner of my eye.

"Don't call me that."

"But Alec-"

"I don't care."

Lukas insisted on calling me Rebel the whole way to first period. Rylan and Brent split up from us and I decided it was easier tuning Lukas out. When we arrived in class, I was thankful that he received an assigned seat _across_ the classroom from me. Sienna was now chattering with him.

Every once in awhile through class notes, I glanced over at Lukas, and couldn't help but roll my eyes every time Sienna sent him a smirk or a lewd expression. Lukas seemed interested though, for he kept reaching across his desk and fiddling with her long, blonde hair. _Disgusting_. Who knew what kind of diseases she had?

I mentally shook myself. Why would I care for _any_ of the guys' well-being? I despised them all -well except for Claude and Brent. I wasn't sure about Rylan yet, because we had yet to speak.

* * *

Class went by in a flash, and I escaped to second period, leaving Sienna and Lukas behind to talk to each other. I walked into class as the fourth or fifth person -meaning I was early, and noticed Rylan sitting in the back next to my seat. The teacher must have put him there.

He was nose deep in his large book, and I silently sat next to him. His green eyes slid to the side to give me a once-over, before going back to his book. Well, here goes nothing. "Hi." I said, putting on my _charming_ smile.

"Hello."

Needless to say, I was shocked about a couple of things. One, his accent was heavily and most definitely British, and he _actually_ spoke back. His voice was so sultry that I almost melted into jelly right there. I put on a weak smile.

"So… what are you reading?"

"Vampire Academy." he said back. _Vampires_? I wondered. That category seemed popular nowadays. I leaned forward to look at the page he was on and couldn't help but notice he smelled similar to Alec. I suddenly found myself staring at the side of his face. Once again, his hair was covering it, but I noticed his skin was pale, and the veins underneath it seemed to mesh brightly in blue and purple streaks. Was he unhealthy? Needless to say, it didn't make him look less sexier.

"Find anything amusing?" he asked, and I noticed he was now staring back at me. Our faces were an inch away, and my eyes met his. They were a deep, murky green, like I was staring into a lake's depths.

"I -uh… your eyes. Most definitely." I quickly recovered and pulled back. His face was still expressionless, but his eyes continued to stick on me as I moved and situated my gaze on the front of the classroom. My cheeks were heated and I knew I was blushing.

"Thank you." he replied, and went back to his book. I found myself smiling. There was something…mysterious about him -most definitely. And I _liked_ it for some reason. Maybe it was the type of girl I was.

* * *

That class went by quickly, and Rylan parted with me without saying anything more. My next two classes I had with Brent, and then Brent _and_ Lukas. I found myself opening up to both of them, telling them each how many times I had gotten myself into trouble and how Elly and I had been friends for two years.

"So now that we've gotten to friend base, can I flirt with some girls?" Lukas asked me during partner study time. I made a face at him and Brent gave a small laugh.

"You mean acquaintance base? And I honestly don't care if you flirt, because I don't own you." I replied, copying Brent's answer for number forty-three on the assignment. He nudged me with his elbow and I smirked at him. Hey, he was smart, what could I say?

"You're right. Technically, we own _you_." Lukas said slyly leaning back in his chair in case I decided to lash out at him. I merely wrinkled my nose in disdain.

"Don't ever say that-"

"Excuse me?" a soft girl's voice asked from beside us. We all glanced over, and standing there was one of the junior class presidents. She had a soft blush on her face, and she was fidgeting with her fingers in front of her summer dress. Lukas suddenly became interested. "My name is Naomi. I-I just wanted to ask if you were single."

It took me a moment to realize she was speaking to Lukas. He propped his chin in his palm and studied her. I glanced back at her too. She had chin-length dark hair and thin glasses on. Her eyes were big and brown, and she was sure a pretty sight. She was really skinny though…in _every_ aspect. Finally, Lukas leaned back again and heaved a sigh. "Sorry. You aren't my type."

My mouth fell open. Naomi's hand covered her mouth and she nodded weakly and then turned and went back to her desk. I watched as she buried her face into her arms and her tiny body started shaking with sobs. I turned back on Lukas with anger seething through my system. Hell, I was heartless, but to turn somebody down like _that_ was uncalled for!"

"You didn't have to be so blunt!" I hissed in a whisper. Lukas leaned forward so he could whisper back,

"If you aren't blunt with 'em, they never leave you alone. Trust me, Reb."

I pulled back scornfully. "Reb?" I gritted my teeth. Lukas could _really _be an asshole. He shrugged,

"Short for Rebel."

I rolled my eyes. "You are a dick. Almost worse than Alec." I snorted in disbelief. Lukas let out a hoot of laughter. Half the class turned to stare awkwardly at him. Lukas snickered at the end of his laugh and sighed contently.

"Oh nooo. Nobody can get as bad as Alec."

Brent chuckled. "I have to agree with you on that one."

I looked back and forth between them and groaned. If Alec was worse than _that_…than how the hell was I suppose to wreck his life?!

* * *

Lunch was the worst time of the day. I was confronted with all four guys, who took over our normal table. Max and I only stared at them as they kicked our other friends out and then sat down. Elly happily plopped down next to Alec, and Max and I shared an annoyed glance.

Sure, Max was cute and all. He always had a head full of messy, and sometimes frizzy, dark hair, and hazel eyes. He looked a lot like Elly, except for his more boyish features. Finally, I sat next to Brent and Max sat on my other side so he was between Elly and I.

"So who is that shrimp?" Lukas asked, casually propping his elbows on the table as he studied Max. I scowled at him. Max was maybe five-foot-eight or nine, so he wasn't much taller than me or Elly. But he was a whole hell of a lot shorter than the other guys.

"My name is Max." Max replied. His voice sounded skeptical as he peered at the other boy and bit into his pizza. I realized the others weren't really eating. Their food sat in front of them, only bitten into once or twice. My eyes fell on Rylan once more.

And _once more_, he was interested in his book. Come to think of it, every single one of them had pale skin. I had already managed to get close enough to each to witness the blue and purple veins underneath their skin too. Maybe they were all sick or something.

Lukas gave a snort. "Like a dog, right? Woof! Come here Max!" he mocked and smirked widely. Max's eyes darkened. He placed his food back on the tray and pushed it away from himself.

"You are an asshole." he muttered and stood up.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, sitting up. I was about to stand when Max shook his head.

"For a walk. I'm gonna meet up with some of my other friends for the rest of lunch." he told me frostily. I watched him begin to walk away.

"For a walk? Don't dogs need leashes?" Alec added, and Lukas laughed along with him. _That was it_. I picked up the remainder of Max's chocolate milk, and chucked it at Alec. Much to my shock, he caught it before it even spilled a drop. Everyone at our table was staring at one of us, including Rylan, who was now interested in our fight. Alec looked at me and then the upright milk carton in his hands with a smirk on his face.

"You throw like a girl." he stated, setting down the milk. I didn't waste two seconds before I shoved the plate of pizza that was Max's across the table. Alec's eyes widened. He obviously hadn't expected the greasy, filled with toppings pizza to fall straight into his lap and smear over his nice, white t-shirt. Elly gasped in shock and immediately stood up. She grabbed a handful of napkins from the center of the table and started to clean Alec's shirt off.

The whole time, his murderous glare was set on me. I snarled at him and turned on my heel and walked away from them to find Max. Elly was shouting something after me, and she sounded angry.

What the fuck was her problem?! She was just going to let her own brother be insulted in front of her face?! Something was wrong with those guys, and I was going to find out…

…hopefully soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Uh-oh! Busted!_

Instead of being with his other friends, Max was sitting by his locker and playing a game on his phone in boredom. The hallway was empty save for him and I. When I approached him, he glanced up and then frowned. "Oh, it's you." he muttered and then went back to his phone. I glared at him a moment, but decided against insulting him and instead sat down next to him.

"I tried throwing the rest of your milk at him." I said, shrugging my shoulders. Max peered at me again with a raised eyebrow. Then I added, "But he caught the carton before it tipped."

Max sighed and shut off his phone before letting his head fall back against his locker with a _clang_.

"And then I threw the pizza." I told him quickly. Max looked at me with wide eyes.

"And?"

"It smeared down the front of his shirt, of course." I grinned, and Max let out a laugh.

"It's okay. I'm not so much mad at him as I am Ellyria." he said suddenly, his laughter abruptly stopping as another frown marred his cute face. I nodded in understanding.

"Maybe her attitude has changed since getting her first boyfriend who isn't afraid of me."

Max agreed and then it was quiet between us for a couple moments. Then, out of the blue, he asked curiously, "Is it really because I'm younger than you that you won't allow me to go riding?"

"From the cops?" I inquired, surprised. He nodded in response. I smiled. "Nah. Besides, you're a few months younger, so it doesn't make a difference. I just never wanted you to get into trouble with your family."

Max narrowed his eyes. "But you let Ellyria go."

I sighed heavily. "Okay, maybe it was because of your age-" I saw his face fall in disappointment, and I felt guilt. So I quickly said instead, "But how about tonight, we go together? We can sneak out, I can borrow one of the Darquecaster's cars, and then I'll come get you."

Max sat upright and turned to me completely with a newfound look on his face. "Really?!" He demanded in disbelief. I smiled and nodded, holding up my pinky.

"Promise."

He stared at my pink and then smiled instead, and grabbed me into a hug. It was then I noticed that even though he was only sixteen years old and a few months younger, he seemed well-built and warm. I was comfortable in his arms. Blushing, I pulled away and cleared my throat. Well, that was _weird_.

"So, what time?" Max asked me as we stood up together.

"How about….ten?" I suggested, just as the bell rang. Max grinned and nodded.

"Thanks… You have no clue how much I've wanted to do it! Even if it's just one night." Max wrapped me once more into a hug, before bidding goodbye and rushing to his next class. I stared after him.

"Do _what_, exactly, at _ten_ tonight?" Alec asked right next to my ear. I squealed in shock and spun around, connecting my backpack with his chest as hard as I could. He didn't even budge or wince! I glared at him. He smirked back.

"None of your business!" I hissed.

"Really, it isn't, but it _is_ my business to know whether or not you're sneaking out. Remember, we _own_ you. This is punishment." he retorted. I looked down at his shirt for a moment and realized he had changed it with a plain, black sweater.

"It's exile." I snapped, turning on my heel to head to our next class. Elly was probably already there. Why she wasn't with Alec, who cared. Alec kept a smooth pace beside me.

"I didn't hear you deny the fact we own you." he said, a defiance in his voice. I snorted.

"Nobody owns me. I'm a free person. I can sneak out, do drugs, do arson, beat up people and run from the cops all I want and more."

"I guess that makes sense for a person who is about to give up her body to her best friends brother." Alec replied. I stopped walking and he continued on without even looking back at me.

"I-I wasn't!" I spluttered anxiously. Alec waved a hand to dismiss me in the air and I growled in annoyance. Oh man! Was it just me or did he just assume something so vulgar like that?! I clenched my teeth and chased after him as he walked into our next class. Elly was already sitting and Alec quickly joined her before I could slam his face into a wall. Elly glared past Alec at me and I faltered.

Wow, really?

I grunted and sat on her other side. "I'm sorry for that accident, Alec." I spoke past Elly to Alec. He looked at me in slight confusion. I put on a fake smile and batted my eyelashes. "The pizza must have slipped off the tray."

Elly shot me a curious look as to why I was apologizing, but I smiled brilliantly at her. Alec merely raised an eyebrow, but ignored my fake apology. Class started. I noticed Elly pull out a piece of paper and write something on it. Then she passed it to me.

I quickly opened it and read,

**Did you seriously mean that apology? - Elly**

I nearly snorted at her question. I quickly wrote back,

**Of course not. But I don't want you angry at me. **

I tossed it back to her when the teacher wasn't looking. She read it and I watched as she rolled her eyes. She stuffed the note back into her binder and we paid attention to the teacher's lecture.

* * *

After that class, Elly and I went together to last period. We wrote notes back and forth the whole time, and she mainly asked me why I was sent to live with the Darquecaster's. I told her it was punishment and I was supposed to be a live-in maid. So far the only reasonable ones were Brent and Claude.

After school, I ran to the office to say bye to Becca and then quickly climbed into Lukas's car. Once more, I was in the back with Brent and Alec, and Rylan in the passenger's seat. Nobody spoke at all. The only noises were the low rumbling of the speakers playing death metal, and Brent texting rapidly on his phone.

I sniffled subconsciously and peeked over Lukas's shoulder at the speedometer. Then I smirked triumphantly when I saw his baby sport's car could go up to exactly 200 M.P.H.

"What are you smiling about?" Lukas suddenly asked. I glanced up at his reflection in the rear-view mirror and grinned sheepishly.

"Oh nothing." I leaned back and smiled inwardly to myself. Max was going to love tonight. I think I'll steal Lukas's car tonight.

"I really don't like that look on your face." Lukas muttered, looking back to the road. I only laughed.

"Don't think much of it." I assured him.

"Exactly, it's on her face all the time." Alec added. I could only ignore him. I was happy about tonight. Max and I could bond while having fun at the same time! I winced suddenly. That _did_ sound wrong. I smiled to myself despite it.

"Are you okay?" Brent asked me slowly, putting a hand to my forehead.

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"Because you're facial expressions went from mischievous, to pain, and then to joy." he answered, bringing his hand back. I rolled my eyes as we drove into the driveway.

"You guys assume too much." I said, and as soon as Alec stepped out of the car, I rushed past him and to the house, all the while yelling, "_Claude! I'm ready to cleeean!_"

* * *

I collapsed against my bed in a heap and huffed a sigh. It had just turned eight-forty-one, leaving me an hour and twenty minutes until I had to sneak out and steal Lukas's car. I smirked to myself. I already knew how to hotwire a car -thanks to Joshua once grounding me from my keys. Ha. It didn't take long to learn how to do it thanks to Max. He was brilliant and knew cars like the back of his hand, it was just he hadn't been allowed to drive once since the…_accident_.

I suddenly frowned, remembering the day he had gotten into a wreck and nearly killed Elly. Ever since then, he had been too afraid to touch the wheel again. Elly still had the scar from the windshield gash in her lower abdomen. She was sterile now, and couldn't have kids. The glass had injured her horribly. That was before we met. But she told me the story and showed me the scar.

Don't get me wrong, Elly loves Max with every fiber of her heart. He blamed himself for the longest time, but she denied it. And I was sure it upset Max when Elly didn't stick up for him today. I clenched my fists. That was why I had been so angry with her.

Someone knocked on my door, and I muttered, "Come in."

It opened and Claude stepped in. "Did you finish the floors?" he asked. I glared at him.

"Yes, I did. Every single twenty-four of them, too!"

Claude smiled in response. "Are you going to eat dinner?" he leaned against my doorframe as I sat up. Silently, I shook my head. Claude frowned. "Not even after doing so much work? We need you around. Can't have ya wasting away!"

I smiled. "No thanks." _Besides, I was going to eat out tonight._

Claude gave me one last look, shrugged, and left my room. I hurriedly stood and grabbed a new pair of clothes and then went to the bathroom to take a shower. I went quickly, because the ride to Max and Elly's house was a good twenty-five minutes, so I'd have to leave that many minutes early. After I finished, I climbed out of the shower and wrapped my towel around me.

I brushed through my hair quickly and then moved to take off the towel to change into my clothes. It was then I realized I hadn't locked the door. I moved forward, and then stopped, my mouth gaping like a fishes when I saw there was _no_ lock! What the hell?!

And at that special, perfect moment, the door opened. Lukas stared back at me, wearing an opened, button-up shirt and a pair of low-ride jeans. This was going to become a pain in the ass. I was going to order Claude to put locks on these doors right away!

"Um. Well. This is an awkward moment." Lukas blinked and then looked down. My one hand was holding the towel just barely closed, and the towel slit at my upper thigh, showing the ivory skin there. Now on most cases, a woman with a body as mine would probably flaunt it off giddily, but in _my_ case…

"_Get the hell out!_" I shouted, picking up someone's toothbrush. Lukas's eyes widened a little bit, and I chucked the toothbrush at him. He dodged it and tried to shush me by gasping,

"Shh! Be quiet!"

I moved toward him and went to punch him in the face -maybe it would teach him a lesson to knock first, but he had grabbed my wrist and shoved me back into the bathroom. And then I stumbled over the rug.

Didn't this kind of stuff only happen in the movies? Oh wait, _ahem_, the _porn_ movies?! I fell backwards with a small cry, and Lukas moved his arm quickly behind me so that the back of my head collided with his arm instead of the welcoming wall. Due to this, I found myself in an utterly ridiculous position.

I was half on my lower back and half on my ass, and Lukas was hovering over me with one arm holding him up and the other against the back of my head. Our faces were a hands-width apart, and I could only look at him in astonishment.

It was silent for a long moment, before Lukas's eyes flickered downwards and a smirk adorned his face. "I didn't realize your breasts were so perfect."

I looked down in confusion and then screamed so loud, Lukas flinched back away from me a few feet and shot to his feet. I quickly covered my revealed body and gave him a death glare. Though my face felt bright red and warm. "Get. Out. Before. I. Castrate. You." I warned lowly between my gritted teeth. I breathed evenly through my nose to keep myself from exploding and beating the shit out of him right there.

Lukas put his hands up. "Sorry! I was just joking! Shit! Trust me, over my years, I've seen _much_ better bodies." he stated, and then turned and sauntered out of the bathroom, slamming it shut behind him. I nearly twitched at his insult.

_Oh yeah, and by the way Lukas, I'm stealing your car tonight. Don't get angry at me if it comes back with a few scratches or dents, _I mocked in my mind as I speedily dressed before anybody else could barge in. After that, I brushed my teeth and left the bathroom. Lukas was waiting on the outside, and ignored me as I brushed past him. I went to my room and slipped on socks and shoes, and then went to my window. Only two stories. That wouldn't kill me, would it?

I shoved open the window and it moaned in protest. There was no screen, much to my joy, and I slipped one foot out carefully. I placed it on the ledge and crawled out completely. Keeping my fingers tightly gripped onto the windowsill, I lowered my other foot to the ledge as well. Then I peered down and sucked in a large breath. It was almost pitch black out there, save for the distant light of my room and the light coming from the den room to the other side. I couldn't see anything beneath me, but I knew from memory there was supposed to be grass there. It _was_ the backyard after all.

I had jumped from roofs before. This wasn't any different. I turned slightly, and let go, jumping outwards away from the house. All I had to do was land _just _right on my feet. And then seconds before I hit the ground, strong arms caught me and swung me into a bridle-style hold. I gasped in shock from the sudden whiplash, and looked up into the face of Rylan.

Was this mere coincidence? Getting caught in not one, or two...but _three awkward _situations with three guys in one day?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_The Cold-Blooded Killer and The Policeman_

My eyes widened considerably when he scrutinized me with his pretty, jade green eyes. It was almost as if they reflected the distant light from my room and glowed. "Attempting suicide?" he assumed, setting me back on my feet. I stepped away from him to put space between us.

Suddenly suicide didn't sound so bad. I snorted despite though. "No, I wasn't. What I was doing isn't any of your business."

Rylan only studied me coolly. It almost unnerved me. How could someone remain so…so…_stoic_? "I suppose you have already heard the '_we own you now'_ speech, so I'll skip it." he stated. I almost smiled. He suddenly stepped to the side, as if allowing me to walk past him. I looked at him in shock. He held up a set of keys. "Take mine. It's the gold one and it's faster."

I nearly fell to the ground. "W-what?" How did he know what I was doing? Rylan took my wrist, and I nearly jumped in surprise. His skin was _cold_! He pulled my arm out and opened my palm. Then he set the keys in my hand and closed my fingers over them.

"I won't tell if you won't." he told me and then turned and walked back around the house. I stared after him, my emotions winding around in my head in questioning. Was it normal to have skin _that_ cold?! How did he know what I was going to do?! Come to think of it, Brent had somehow known I hadn't set my alarm clock… What the hell was wrong with these people?

I shook my head mentally and started off to the garage. Much to my joy, it was already opened. A small UV light sprayed a dark illumination of the garage, and my eyes fell on the smooth looking golden babe. My mouth fell open in surprise. Hell, there were six beautiful cars in here! Six? Weren't there only five of the guys though? I made my speedy way to the gold car and fumbled with the keys in my hand. I unlocked it quickly and climbed in.

For moments I swooned and coddled over the beautiful looking leather seats and admired the smell of it. It smelled brand new. I put the right key into the ignition and then paused. Wouldn't they hear me start it? I sucked in a deep breath and turned the keys quickly. The only noise it made was a soft rumble and the car shook just barely. All the lights of the gauge's in front of me lit up a light, sky blue and revealed to me the speed of his car.

I nearly let out an overjoyed squeal. 238 MPR! I grinned and pulled quietly out of the garage, but paused a moment when the car rolled past Lukas's. I rolled down the window and took off one of the keys on Rylan's key chain, and then reached out my window and slid the key down the passenger's door of Lukas's car so it made a soft screeching noise.

I smirked when I pulled back and admired my handiwork. It left a foot long scratch, very, _very _visible. I rolled the window back up and left the garage completely.

As I drove away from the house, I saw the light go off in the den room, and I knew someone else would figure out I was gone. I hit the gas pedal hard, and let out a laugh.

* * *

"You are five minutes early." Max stated as he quickly climbed into the car. He too, admired the interior. I smiled at him and pulled out of his dark driveway.

"I had to be. I didn't want anyone to know I had left, so I hightailed it." I said. Well, only _one_ person knew I had left, and I hoped Rylan wouldn't tell.

"So where are we going?" Max asked as we drove down the usual road.

"There's usually a cop sitting at the end of the guardrail next to the apartment complex. I take him in a u-turn and then drive away. That's when he calls his buddies. After he gets them, we do another u-turn and drive straight back towards the apartment complex. It pisses them off to no end." I explained. Max smiled.

"Well, it looks like we got our wish." he said, pointing a little ways ahead of us. Sure enough, there was a cop car sitting there, and I sped up to fifty miles over the speed limit. We zoomed by, and I looked at my rearview mirror. My mouth dropped. "What the hell?" Max demanded.

The cop hadn't moved. I spun around at the apartment complex guardrail and sat there, the front of the gold car facing the cop. It was then I realized the driver's door was torn open, and I saw that half of the driver's seat was ripped to shreds.

"Oh my God." I exclaimed, immediately unbuckling. I threw open the car door despite Max's protests, and shut it. The air was chilly, but I ignored it. Max quickly climbed out of his side and glared at me.

"Whatever the hell happened to the cop is over now. We need to leave. It could be dangerous."

"Yeah, and the cop _could_ have been Joshua!" I retorted hastily, and began running to the torn up car. I could hear Max groan, and then he followed after me. When I got closer, the streetlamp just a few yards away lit up the dark red liquid stained on the shredded seat. My hands went to my mouth to stifle my shocked cry.

It was blood. It had to have been. Max put an arm on mine to stop me from going further. I couldn't move anyhow. My body was frozen in terror. It looked like the cop had put up a fight, and whatever the hell had gone after it ripped apart the door and threw it off the hinges. Glass from the window was scattered among the interior and on the ground, blending in with the blood.

"Come on." Max insisted, pulling against me. I slowly shook my head. No. I had to find out if that cop had been Joshua or not. I yanked away from him and Max kept protesting to me weakly and quietly as I made my way to the car. The stench of metallic blood and something else wreaked havoc in my stomach, and I quickly held my breath as I peered inside the car.

With shaking hands, I reached forward to the glove box. I couldn't see anything else in the car, except the passengers seat and the illumination the streetlamp held over the drivers. I was too afraid to look in the back of the car. I opened the glove box and pulled out the only piece of paper in there. Quickly, I jerked back and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air.

I looked down at the paper and it had the policeman's picture on it, his name, date of birth…I let out a relieved sigh when I saw it wasn't Joshua. "Okay, you have your proof, now can we go?! _Please_?!" Max begged behind me.

"I need to call Joshua and Becca. Give me your cell phone." I said as I turned back to him. He was pale in fear and I almost felt bad for a moment. He nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled his phone out and made to hand it to me. His eyes settled on something behind me and they widened to the point I thought they would fall out of his sockets.

"A-A-Ava…" he stuttered, backing up a step. My heart fluttered in my chest and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I could feel eyes on my back; someone was watching me.

I didn't have to turn to know it was the killer of the policeman. "_Go!_" I shouted to Max. He did. He turned and bolted towards the car as fast as his legs could carry him. I was right behind him. I heard a distant snicker behind us, and when I reached the gold car, I spun as I opened the door.

A dark figure sped towards us. I screamed when it slammed my door shut. Max was already in the passenger's seat. I stared in horror when the tall, sickly pallor man turned to smile at me. My hand was resting against the cool window of the back seat. Max was safe. That was good for now. But I was within feet of this psycho man. He had red smeared across his left cheek, like he had wiped nonchalantly at it. It was blood. His face was slightly narrowed, with a crooked nose like it had been broken a couple times in his life. There was an ugly scar above his right eyebrow.

He stared right back into my eyes with black ones. They nearly blended into the darkness of the night around us. My breath hitched when he raised a hand to my cheek. "I can have you as desert." he muttered. "And then I'll save the boy for breakfast tomorrow."

I realized his nails weren't nails. They were claws. Like animal claws. They scraped gently down my cheek, but I felt warm liquid sprinkle down to my jaw. This man had made me bleed with a touch of his claws. He pulled his hand back and licked his fingers, and I saw the faint glimmer of white fangs.

Oh my God.

I suddenly felt scared shitless. My knees were shaking uncontrollably, and I wanted to faint and just let my death be done and over with. This guy was _insane_.

And then suddenly the driver's seat slammed open at full force, knocking the man with fangs and claws away a few feet. "_Ava_!" Max yelled from the inside. I jumped into the drivers seat before he could tell me twice, and just before the man came back, I shut my door and locked them all. The body of the psycho slammed against my door, shattering the window. I screamed.

Max reached over and started the car, changed it into gear and told me to hit the gas pedal. In a flurry of emotions, I managed to do so, just as the man slammed his hand into my window. I took off, and his hand pulled back before it could be sliced off from the speed of the car. I drove at the cars top speed, watching with wide eyes where I was going. I wasn't going to drop Max back off, and he looked thankful.

He leaned back in his seat with a heavy, shaking sigh. "What…the _fuck_ was that?" he demanded, looking over his shoulder. "He isn't following."

I nodded, and slowed down to 200 MPR when we neared the exit to the ten minute drive to the Darquecaster house. It would be less and my speed. "I-I don't know. But…it _couldn't _have been human." I replied, my voice sounded tiny and scared.

Max gave me a dumbfounded look. "Not human? Are you serious?" he inquired unbelievably, raising his eyebrows.

I shot him an angry look, my emotions ceasing into one. "What would _you_ expect?! Fangs?! Sharp claws? _Blood on his face_?!" I nearly shouted. Max winced.

"Sorry. I just think maybe he was a psycho patient at the mental hospital."

I snorted, but it sounded more like a growl. This was _not_ my night. Or day. It was nearly eleven-thirty, and I tried to calm my breathing as we turned onto the road leading down to the large Darquecaster mansion house. "He was definitely not human." I said, shivering at the way I remembered his dark eyes looking at me in hunger.

I changed gears to slow down the car, and my hand bumped into something. I glanced down at the book resting between mine and Max's seat.

_Vampire Academy_, it read. I stared at it a moment, before looking back up at the house coming into view. All the lights were on, and I could see the garage light shining as well. All the Darquecaster's were standing in there, and it looked like they were arguing.

"Well, then, Miss Know-It-All, what the hell do you think it was?" Max demanded. All the men in the garage turned as we parked in front of it. The only ones who didn't appear angry were Rylan and Brent. And then the pieces clicked together.

"They're vampires."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Back to The Past_

As soon as we had parked the car, Claude was at the door instantly. Max was going to say something on my theory, but his door was being opened by Lukas, who looked like he could kill someone right now. I opened my door and Claude grabbed my arm and pulled me out. The other guys were next to us in a flash.

"Where the hell have you-"

Claude froze and looked at my cheek. I narrowed my eyes, remembering how the blood had just barely dried from the psycho's claws. Then Lukas pulled Max around beside me and when he saw my cheek, he stepped back away from Max and I. It was time to prove my theory now. "Does my blood bother you?" I demanded seriously, touching Claude's arm. He pulled back and stared at me.

"What happen to your face?" Alec asked. He stood behind Claude. First hint, they were staying a few feet away from me and Max. I could feel Max shaking beside me, slightly scared still from the aftermath of being attacked. I only frowned and stepped forward to Claude again.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" I asked, reaching up and touching the wet part of my blood. I brought my hand back and showed it to Claude and Alec. Claude's face twisted and immediately his hand covered his nose. Alec's lips turned into a sneer and he grabbed my wrist. I gasped in shock as he shoved me back against the car, trapping my wrist between his hand and the hood as he leered down at me.

"Are you trying to prove something? That or the fact you smell like…" he trailed off and leaned down to my cheek. My eyes went wide and my breath caught in my throat. Instead of hurting me, I heard him sniff me. Then he looked back at Claude. "The nightwalkers are back."

Claude's face darkened. In a commotion of movement, Alec clutched me brutally to his side as he led me to the house quickly. Max was forced after us by Lukas and Brent, and Claude was in the house first, shutting the door after us. "What's going on!?" I demanded as Alec and Lukas shoved Max and I onto the living room loveseat. Rylan and Lukas sat down on the opposite couch, and Claude yanked his cell phone out of his jacket and dialed a number. Alec was walking around the living room, slamming shut all the windows and locking them.

Nobody had yet to answer me. I looked over at Max, and he looked ashen, as if he'd just seen a ghost. Brent suddenly appeared in front of me with a wet washcloth. He kneeled down and began wiping my cheek free of crusted blood. "Are you okay?" he asked me quietly. I nodded.

"I'll feel better if I know what the hell attacked us and what is happening right now!"

Brent paused and looked back at Claude, who now put the phone to his ear. They shared a curious look. Brent turned back to me. "What happened after you left?" he demanded, dropping hand from my cheek. I unconsciously rubbed the welts and sighed.

I was about to explain when Claude began talking. We all looked at him at the same time Alec walked back into the living room. He leaned against the couch arm and waited patiently.

"Yes. Our new house maid witnessed an attack…Nightwalker. It had to have been." Claude paused for a long moment. "She came back smelling like one with claw marks on her face. Of course it was a nightwalker! There's no doubt!"

I looked back at Max, and he was watching me just as surprised as I was. Had I been correct? What was going on? Claude began talking again. "I don't care if you send Cassidy. Just send someone!" he hissed into the phone. Then he snapped it shut and his furious glare landed on me. It almost sent shivers down my spine. I'd never seen him mad before.

"What were you thinking?!" he hissed, pushing past Brent. He grabbed me by the shoulders and I winced. His grip was painful.

"Claude!" Brent hissed. Claude ignored him. Instead he shook me once.

"Maybe if you'd tell me what was going on I wouldn't be so rebellious!" I retorted. Claude tightened his fingers. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

"_Father_!" Brent snarled. Immediately, Claude let go of me and stepped back. Running a hand through his messy, un-gelled hair, he sighed.

"Explain the problem to her, Brent." he muttered, and sat down in the armchair. Max gently touched my shoulder and I rubbed my other one, glaring at Claude.

"You're wondering what attacked you…" Brent guessed, turning back to me. He sat on the arm of the loveseat and looked down at me.

"I already know what it was…" I murmured in response, looking straight at Rylan. He looked back at me, knowing in his eyes. "And I'm pretty sure both Rylan and you know what I know."

Rylan's eyes widened a bit, and I glared over at Brent. He looked surprised. "Why do you say that?"

I stood up and waved my hands in the air. "Oh, I'm wondering!" I replied sarcastically. "How did _you_," I pointed to Brent, "know I hadn't set my alarm clock?! And _you_!" I turned on Rylan, "How did you know I wanted a fast car to go where I was going? How the hell did you even know what I was doing?!"

"Well, I already know she knows how to pay attention to the basics." Alec muttered sarcastically. I glared at him.

Brent shrugged. "Okay, so we can mentally climb into your mind, so what?" he asked, leaning forward. "So then, what are we? What was that thing that attacked you?" He was testing me.

I stared at him in shock. Then I took a deep breath and answered, "Vampires."

The room went quiet. Alec interrupted it with another smartass comment, "But I never expected her to be _smart_."

Brent chuckled. I threw my hands into the air again. "Is it true?! Vampires?!" I demanded.

"Yes. Except there are two different types of vampires." Brent explained.

"I-I don't feel good… Where's your bathroom?!" Max asked weakly, holding his stomach. Alec raised an eyebrow at him and pointed down the hall. We watched as Max fled from the living room. I winced and turned back to Brent. He didn't look very happy.

"Anyway?" I motioned for him to continue.

"We're the daywalkers. The vampires who can walk in the sunlight. The vampire you witnessed is a-"

"Nightwalker. Yeah, I heard that." I interrupted, collapsing against the loveseat again. "Ughh… This is all too much to take in…" I muttered into my hands.

"Usually. But as for the dog," Alec jutted a thumb towards the bathroom, causing me to glare at him, "sometimes it's a lot to get rid of."

"His name is Max and he's _human_ and _normal_ unlike _you_." I growled. Alec raised an eyebrow.

"Harsh." Lukas muttered beside him. I rolled my eyes.

"So now what? Isn't it usually illegal that humans know about you?" I asked. Claude finally leaned forward and shook his head.

"I don't know where you got that thought from…but no, it isn't illegal. It doesn't matter that you know, because you live with us for now. Rebecca and Joshua have been our friends for sixteen years, and they've known about us ever since then."

"What about Max?" I asked.

"He might be a problem. We can't have either of you spreading word about us." Claude told me.

"No way! He wouldn't tell anyone!" I gasped, horrified.

Brent stood up then. "I'm going to go check on him." he said, and disappeared down the hall. I sighed again.

"So… are you guys going to eat me in my sleep or something?" I asked. Claude let out a belt of laughter.

"No. We get given blood from the hospital in New Jersey. It's full of vampire employees. The humans don't even know that when they donate their blood, it's going straight to the daywalkers in the world. But besides that, we have worse matters at hand. We thought we had killed of the nightwalkers fifty years ago-"

"_Fifty_?! Holy shit! How old are you guys?!" I asked, bewildered.

"Alec is the oldest out of all of us." Claude replied. I raised an eyebrow.

"But aren't you the father?"

"Yes, but I was changed by Alec after he was changed by Cassidy."

"Wait, wait, wait. I'm confused. Start from the beginning, with _your_ guys' story first." I ordered, leaning back. Claude smiled and nodded.

"It began in 1746, in Kent, England. Cassidy and I met at a local bread stand, but I won't go into details." Claude grinned, and I couldn't help but smile back. "Anyway, we had children together two years later. Brent was born first, and then we had Rylan. Two years afterwards, we had _fraternal twins_: Alec and Lukas. It wasn't until sixteen years later, in 1767, that strange things were happening to Cassidy. She worked late at night, and when she came home, she was always sickly looking. When the boys were schooling one day and I was taking care of Cassidy, I saw the bite marks on her throat. When I asked her what was wrong, she tried to attack me."

I stared at him in horror. Claude looked at Alec then. "By then, Alec arrived home first. He saved me by blocking one of her attacks. Instead, she bit him. To keep him from dying, she fed him her blood, all the while apologizing. For another year, we had to live with two vampires, until Alec changed me when I fell ill with tuberculosis. And Cassidy changed the rest of our boys."

"Which is why they had stayed in Jersey with her while Alec goes everywhere with you, right?" I asked. Claude nodded.

"The daywalker that had changed Cassidy was one of the first among daywalkers. He was the one who created the nightwalkers by accident."

"_What is a nightwalker_?" I demanded.

"They're the type of vampire who dies before they're changed. They're brought back to life from hell, giving into their thirst. They can only control it if they've been alive for over three centuries."

I stared down at my hands; they still had some dried blood on them. "So the only difference between you and them is their psychotic blood need and they can't walk in the sunlight? Why is that?"

Claude shrugged. "Has to do with traveling into the darkness." he replied.

"The darkness?"

"Death. When you die, you die in darkness. Not light." Claude explained. At that moment, Max and Brent walked back into the room. Max looked embarrassed as he sat back down next to me.

"I already told him everything." Brent said, sitting down next to Rylan.

"I was just about to get to the part of the nightwalkers." Claude said. Brent nodded for us to continue. I quickly refocused my attention on Claude. "Since we were among the first few daywalkers, we vowed to kill off the nightwalkers. They're vicious, selfish and disgusting vampires. When they kill, they _murder_. Fifty years ago, we assumed we had killed off the last of the nightwalkers…but now…" he pointed to my cheek. "There's another one, and it doesn't look like he's messing around. Do you remember what he looked like?"

I squinted at the floor, trying to think back to the malevolent, psychotic creature.

"Black eyes…dark hair…narrow, skinny face and a crooked nose. He had a scar above his right eyebrow. He was also tall…really tall." Max suddenly said faintly. We all looked at him in surprise. He gave us a sheepish smile. "Sorry… I have a great memory…especially of scary things."

Claude thought a moment before standing up. "Okay. None of you are leaving this house until tomorrow. You won't mind staying here, will you?" he asked Max. Max looked at me and then blushed and looked away.

Brent grinned. "Nah, I don't think he'll mind."

Max glared at him. "Stay out of my thoughts!"

Then I remembered. "Oh yeah! What about your powers?!" I asked. "How did that happen?"

Claude paused a moment. "The only ones who have powers are Brent and Rylan. I believe it's just an opt of the mind, since they were already both extremely smart before they were vampires. The mind powers they achieved were probably just power boosts."

I nodded in understanding. "So they can…_climb_ into our minds?" I wondered out loud.

"Only humans. Climbing into your minds as in…well…sometimes we can read your thoughts, sometimes we can see through your eyes…and other times we can see into your past. Such as when I found out you didn't set your alarm clock. I hadn't seen you doing it at all." Brent said to me. I grimaced.

That meant he knew what had happened with my biological father all those times. That was a definite invasion of privacy... "But then… why did you wonder so much about me when we first met?"

Brent smiled. "Because I'd rather trust your voice over your mind." he told me.

Before I could respond, Claude said, "Cassidy will be here in three days." he told his sons. I saw Alec stiffen.

"_Lovely_." he breathed darkly, and then left the living room.

"What's his problem?" I asked.

"Grudges. He doesn't know when to get rid of them." Brent filled in. I stared after Alec where he had just been and felt sad. No, he had all the right to not forgive his mother. Who would want to live for all eternity? Who would want to have to drink blood constantly? Despite that, I still hadn't forgiven my father for what he had done.

"Well, I'm going to sleep." Claude muttered. "You guys should be safe for school tomorrow."

Then I remembered something. On Friday, Alec would be going on a date with Elly. But did I feel comfortable enough with that? Especially since there was a cold-blooded killer on the loose? And not to mention on that same day, their _mother_ would be flying in.

"Why is your mother coming all the way over here?" I asked Brent, dismissing my negative thoughts.

"She can track the nightwalkers easier than any of us."

I sighed. "Okay… I think my brain is holding enough info for now. I'm exhausted." I said, standing up. Max caught my wrist. I looked down at him in surprise.

"W-where can I sleep?"

"On the floor." Lukas said, smirking. Max glared at him. I sighed and looked to Brent.

"Can he get a room near mine? I don't trust that Lukas and Alec won't try something."

Brent raised an eyebrow. "How about a room between Rylan's and mine? You're a girl and he's a boy." Brent pointed out. I scrutinized him.

"Fine. But if anything happens to him, you'll have to deal with the wrath of Ellyria."

Brent looked astonished for a moment. "Your friend? What can a mere human do? I think you'd be more of a threat than her. I mean… you escaped a _nightwalker_."

"With my help." Max added.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter went by so fast! I wanted to get the majority of the past said and done with.


	9. Chapter 9

"_Where have you been_?!" Elly demanded angrily of Max at school the next day. The three of us were standing in the hall. The guys had already left to class, leaving us behind. Elly was pissed off at Max for leaving last night without asking their parents.

"I snuck out to spend the night over at Ava's new house!" he told her.

"Why?! Do you realize how furious mom and dad were this morning?!" Elly nearly yelled. Max shook his head in annoyance.

"No. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go to class. I'll deal with mom and dad later." he said, and then left. Elly turned on me, fuming. Oh great, now I had to hear it.

"I can't believe you! You should have called! Alec is going to get a piece of my mind too! I can't believe this!" she repeated herself. I stared at her in astonishment. Wow.

"PMSing much?" I asked innocently. She furiously glared at me. I offered a smile. As we headed to our classes, I sighed, thinking about the incident from yesterday.

Max and I were sworn to secrecy, and not even Elly could know. But then again, if I told her, I'm sure she would blurt it out in surprise and happiness. Alec was hot enough as it is, so him being a vampire would only -I nearly tripped over my own feet.

Did I just think Alec was hot? Oh God. I mentally slapped myself. Whatever imaginary spell he had over Elly was not going to work on me.

It was still hard to believe I knew a family of vampires. They didn't scare me one bit. It was the psychotic nightwalker that scared the hell out of me. And knowing now that I couldn't leave the house at nighttime annoyed me.

Nightwalkers and daywalkers. The psychotic vampires of the night and the reasonable, brilliant ones of the day. That…was annoying as well. They were too smart for their own good.

The school day went by normally, with Lukas and Alec teasing Max at lunchtime -though not as badly anymore considering he had blackmail- and Lukas flirting with random girls.

It was when last period came around that things suddenly became complicated. Elly sat next to me, and she looked slightly angry. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Other than the Max incident? Oh a lot of shit." she snorted. I raised an eyebrow.

"Liiiiike?" I motioned for her to continue.

"Well first, Alec cancelled our date to go to the movies. But he's letting me come over to the house, so… I guess I can't really be angry…but anyways! Second, Sienna Murphy is getting on my nerves!" she hissed.

I was slightly annoyed at the thought of Elly coming over and having to hear about her gush about Alec the whole time, but when she mentioned Sienna, my annoyance with Elly vanished and went to Sienna.

"What did she do?!" I demanded.

"She's threatening me!"

"About?"

Elly huffed and ran a hand through her pretty hair. "About Alec! She thinks she's so much better than me and that I don't deserve him!"

_Well technically, you don't…_ I thought. She had no clue what Alec was. But I quickly wiped away that crude thought and laid a hand on her arm. "Just punch her in the face." I told her seriously. She let out a shaky laugh.

"Ohhh, no! That's not my spot. Your spot is in violence. You can do it." she smiled.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks. Let me do your dirty work." I said sarcastically. She grinned.

"Thanks!"

I glared at her. "I never said I agreed!"

Elly gave me her puppy-dog face. I faltered. Damn. "Fine." I muttered. She squealed and hugged me. Class started.

* * *

"You invited her to the house?! Are you insane?" I demanded of Alec as we climbed into the car after school. Alec simply smirked at me.

"Jealous?" he asked. I snorted.

"You wish."

"Not really." he retaliated.

"I swear, if you so much as think of drinking her blood, I'll cut off your balls!" I hissed. The guys in the car went silent and stared at me.

"Ouch…" Lukas winced dramatically. I smiled at him.

"Oh, it's okay. It would only be Alec's. And then I'd give them in a jar to Elly as a keepsake of her precious vampire." I joked.

Alec stared at me incredulously. I blinked innocently at him. "You're deranged." he stated, and looked away from me.

I only took that as a compliment.

* * *

Before I knew it, it was Friday. The day that Elly was going to come over for dinner instead of a movie date. Max was going to stay with a friend instead of coming over with her.

After school, Elly hopped in the car with us. Want to know how she fit?

I was forced to lean against Brent as she sat on Alec's lap. What was worse is Alec kept playfully pinching her in inappropriate places… I think… And she kept giggling like a maniac.

Brent and I shared a look that clearly said, "Save me", because she was getting awfully annoying around Alec. It was like I didn't even know her anymore. Alec and I would definitely be talking about this later. I wanted my best friend back.

When we arrived back at the Darquecaster house, Elly was introduced properly to Claude, who had had the day off today thanks to Becca. Elly even flirted with Claude! It was unbelievable.

I was in the kitchen when the others were watching TV. I had refused to sit in there around Elly and Alec, so instead, I chose to clean dishes for dinner time. I was only halfway finished when Lukas walked in.

"Oh man. Their flirting makes me sick. Alec is totally playing her, I can just tell." Lukas muttered, walking to lean against the counter beside me. I glared at him.

"I warned him. If he hurts her…" I trailed off, scrubbing the plate a little more ferociously.

"Jeez, chill out. Don't break the porcelain." he said, rolling up his sleeves. "Want help?"

"No." I answered curtly. "I still haven't forgiven you for that one day."

Lukas looked clueless for a moment. Then he remembered. "Oh, really? Well I take back the insult. Your body was nice." he smiled toothily at the end.

I glared at him. "That just makes it worse."

He sighed and pushed me by the hip with a gentle nudge. But with me, it shoved me halfway across the counter. "Oops, sorry." he apologized. I stared at him, my hip kind of sore now.

"Control your strength!" I ordered, handing him the soapy washcloth. He smiled at me again and started washing the dishes. I helped rinse them.

"So…" he started a conversation. "what is it like living with vampires?"

"Drastic and scary. I'm afraid that every night you're going to enter my room, rape me, and then drink my blood." I lied, keeping my face serious. Lukas's head snapped toward me and he looked perturbed.

"I would never!"

I grinned. He frowned. "Juuuust kidding!" I laughed in a sing-song voice. He smirked and flung a handful of soapy, warm water at me. I gasped dramatically. "_Oh! It's on_!" I threatened, and ripped the rag out of his hand. He jumped back just before I snapped it at him, missing by a couple of centimeters.

Soap and water flung across the floor. Lukas did what looked a ballerina spin to dodge another snap from the rag.

"Hold still!" I shouted, while laughing. Lukas grinned and reached forward just before I threw the rag at his face. He grabbed my wrist to keep me from hitting him with it. I grabbed the rag with my other hand and he made a grab for that one too.

So I bit his offending fingers.

His eyes widened for what seemed like less than a millisecond, and then he pushed me against the counter island so fast it nearly made the world spin in my eyesight. I released his fingers to stare up at him in surprise.

His body, despite being cold against me, sent warm tingles through my chest and to my lower abdomen. His face was a centimeter from mine, and our lips were nearly touching.

My heart was beating so fast I thought it would break out of my chest. Why was I getting so uptight about kissing a guy? I'd kissed plenty of guys before… Lukas was no different…

But wait…he was. He was a lot different. He was a fucking vampire.

"Psyche!" Lukas suddenly laughed, and he pulled back .

"Wait…what?" I asked, dizzy. He held up the soapy rag and waved it around. My jaw dropped. "Y-you totally faked me out!" I hissed, shooting forward to grab the rag. It was _on_.

Lukas snickered and disappeared from my sight as if he'd just teleported. I stumbled forward and caught myself on the fridge.

"What the hell…?" I breath, and looked around. A whoosh of wind threw my air around me and then he was right in front of me again, wearing a different, dry shirt and the rag was in the sink. I stared at him in awe. "Wow…"

Lukas grinned. "What's the matter? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

I snapped my mouth shut and glared at him. "No, I think I just saw a vampire showing off."

"But it worked, didn't it?"

"But now I'm mad at you. Twice in a row."

"Wait, why the first time?"

"Because you 'psyched' me out before."

Lukas raised an eyebrow at me. Then he stepped forward. I unconsciously took a step back, my back meeting with the fridge. He leaned down so that I almost had to look cross-eyed at him.

"Would you rather me do this, instead?"

My breath got caught in my throat once more, and he brushed his lips against mine. I barely felt them, but they were soft and cool. It was like a feather against me. My brain went fuzzy and my eyes fluttered shut. Lukas kissed me again, pressing his lips firmly against mine. I let out a small moan, and I was just seconds from meeting his tongue with mine, when suddenly the kitchen door burst open. Lukas shot away from me in his "teleporting" amazingness and was at the sink again.

"Are you guys done with the dishes?!" Alec demanded, stalking into the kitchen. My knees caved in and I collapsed on the floor, staring wide-eyed at nothing ahead of me. At the same time I did, Lukas turned casually.

"Nope, sorry, not yet. What's your problem, Ava?" he asked nonchalantly. I shifted my eyes to look at him in shock. Wow, he was a great actor.

"I -uh…nothing."

Alec gave me a funny look. "Well then get the hell of the floor and start setting the table." he ordered. I opened my mouth to retort, but he interrupted with a hand in the air. "Claude's orders."

I shut my mouth and stood up. "Fine." I snapped. Alec glanced at me and then Lukas one more time curiously, and left the room. I spun on Lukas. "You could have steadied me, you _jerk_."

Lukas smiled and waved me away. I grabbed the clean dishes and went to the dining room with a frustrated huff. I came back into the kitchen afterwards.

"I didn't know you guys could eat." I suddenly said.

Lukas grimaced. "Well, we can, but afterwards we'll have to drink human blood. The food humans eat acts as a sponge and sucks up all the blood in our stomach."

"You better not drink from Elly." I warned.

"What about you? You left that option empty." he stated, smirking when I blushed. "Oh and I'm sure you'd like it if I started with kisses."

I blushed harder. "Shut up!" I hissed.

Dinner went better than usual, even though Elly was there. She was acting somewhat normal, because this time, Claude and Brent made sure she sat _across_ from Alec.

I sat next to Elly, and Brent was on my other side. Lukas was across from me. "So how are your grades so far, Ava?" Claude asked me, starting casual conversation.

I paused eating and grimaced, thinking of Mrs. Hammott's progress report she'd given me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brent grin. He had climbed into my mind again.

"I think she's doing juuuuust fine." Brent told Claude innocently. I threw him a thankful smile. Claude looked between us and raised an eyebrow.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Yes." Rylan sounded from the end of the table. Elly looked at him the same time I did. He was staring down at his plate with a distasteful face -probably the most emotion I had seen on his face so far- and once again his hair was covering his face messily.

And then Elly did the one thing I had been yearning to do ever since I'd seen him. She reached over casually and pushed a lock of his hair behind his ear. He froze, and so did everyone else at the table. Elly smiled, unaware of anything out of the ordinary, as she turned back to her plate.

Rylan continued to stare at her.

I felt something stir in my chest. I bit whatever the feeling was back, and stood up. "I'm done." I stated weakly, and grabbed my plate. Without a backwards glance, I walked to the kitchen and washed my dish. Then I walked straight to my room.

I sat on my bed, staring down at my hands. Why did I feel so strange? What was that feeling that had bubbled up into my chest when Elly merely did one simple, innocent thing? It couldn't have been jealousy…for chrissake, I liked Lukas the most. He was the first vampire to ever kiss me. Besides, Rylan and I knew absolutely nothing about each other personally. With how much he lacks in speaking and conversing, it would appear we wouldn't get to know each other anytime soon.

I sighed and threw myself back onto my bed, staring up at my canopy. The red netting around my bed cast red shadows over my walls thanks to the light. Out of boredom, I traced the shadow silhouettes with my eyes, willing the time to pass away before I fell asleep.

And that…was when my door slammed open. Ah, the knocking rule had been relinquished. I tilted my head and glared at the intruder. Brent.

"Hey! Everyone's taking turns on the Wii. Want to come join us?"

"I think there was a reason she left us in the first place, Brent." A new voice said. It was Claude. He peered at me with raised eyebrows. "Although…if you want to…"

"No thanks. I'm going to go to sleep." I answered. Brent and Claude shared a confused expression. Claude shrugged and walked away. Brent stepped into my room and I continued to glare daggers his way. "Usually that means _leave_."

Brent rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him. "Alright, talk to me. Every time you get pissy, your mind blocks me out somehow. So tell me what's on your mind."

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"It wasn't a question."

I huffed and turned away from him. I felt my bed move, and then he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me onto my back so we could face each other. He was leaning against my bedpost.

"Go away."

Brent snorted. "I'd like to see you make me." When I didn't reply, he then added, "So speak."

I dramatically threw my hands into the air. "When Elly touched Rylan I got all jealous, butIthinkit''tthinkIevenlikehimand-"

"Okay, okay. I understand. Although I'm not a chick so I don't _completely_ understand…"

I groaned. "You're a _lot_ of help!" I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. He chuckled and hit me in the face with it. I grabbed a hold of it and kicked against his chest to shove him off my bed.

And of course, with his stupid, cheating vampire reflexes, he grabbed my ankle and pulled me with him. We ended up on the floor, laughing. I interrupted his laughing with a pillow in his face. Within a minute he then stopped moving…completely.

I froze for an instant, and then yanked the pillow away from him. He was dead. _Oh my God! I killed Brent!_

I panicked. "Brent?!" I cried out, shaking him by the shoulders.

Shit! I should have paid attention in Healthy Safety class! I wracked my brain for a quick answer. "Nine-one-one!" I gasped, standing up quickly. I moved to rush to the door. Someone grabbed my ankle.

I squealed in surprise and fell face first into the ground. The person turned me over and straddled my waist. Brent. He smirked down at me. My eye twitched. "You faked me out!" I hissed accusingly. He snickered.

"And it worked damn well, too! It seems you care about me!" He began tickling me. I squealed and giggled some more, pushing against him. My door swung open once more.

Okay, the next person to enter without knocking was going to get punched in the damn face. "Wow, really? We leave you two alone for ten minutes and this is where you end up?" Alec assumed. I looked up and blushed.

"N-no! We were -it was….we…." I began spluttering furiously Brent casually moved away from me and stood up. I sat up quickly, brushing my hair down.

Alec leaned against my doorframe and shot a glare toward Brent. Or at least, that was what I thought it looked like. But it quickly vanished to a smirk. "Lukas wants to race you on Mario Kart."

Brent laughed and nodded. "Alright." he bid me goodnight and left my room. Alec and I stared at each other for a long moment before I blushed and looked away. God, he'd just accused me of getting intimate with Brent!

"So…what _were _you two doing?" he asked carefully, not moving from his position against my doorframe.

"Why does it matter?" I demanded irritably, standing up. I brushed off my clothes and glared over at him. Alec's eyes darkened, much like they had before in the bathroom; when his pupils had dilated dramatically.

My heart sped up. I remembered the reason why Lukas had held him back before. Alec was going to attack me had he not.

"Go away." I ordered, though it came out weakly.

Alec's eyes became black.

"_The food humans eat acts as a sponge and sucks up all the blood in our stomach." _Lukas's voice fled into my mind. Alec was hungry for blood, and I was a walking morsel. I thought about screaming, but when I opened my mouth, no sound came out.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: This chapter has a bit of "sexual innuendo" in it, but barely any at all. So just a warning.

* * *

"Alec!" came Elly's sing-song voice. Alec seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in, and turned to see his girlfriend. I let out a sigh of relief and sat down shakily on my bed. Elly appeared in my door way. "Come on! You and I are racing next!"

Alec nodded and then glared over at me. I returned it. "Good night." He said coldly, and then left with Elly. My door swung shut and I stared at it for a long, few moments.

With an irritated grunt, I walked to the desk in my room, grabbed the chair, and set it up against the door. I needed to be reminded to tell Claude to get a lock on my door and the bathroom door. Then I changed into pajamas and collapsed onto my bed, without bothering to pull the covers up.

* * *

"_Need I remind you who I am?" the man demanded harshly. The woman at the end of the table glared at him. Their faces were blurry, unable to be seen completely. _

"_You are nobody to me, anymore!" the woman cried out angrily, standing up and slamming her hand onto the table. The table split down the middle. A vampire's power._

_The man watched her coolly. "Sit down, Cassy. Let us talk this out."_

"_How can we?! You are angered by a mere secret! And then you begin to speak of your place in this house! You are rude and inconsiderate!"_

_Said man stood abruptly, startling the woman. He strode around the table and grabbed her roughly by the scruff of her lacy dress. "You are a monster now! Both you and _him_!" he roared, pushing her back. She stumbled, but reached out lightning-fast to his arm to steady herself. The room went quiet._

"_So I am a monster?" she asked, her voice lowering and wavering. The man stood rigid, not saying a word. She shook him. "I'm your wife! How could you?!"_

_There was more silence from the man, He continued to watch her, eyes fiery and alert._

_The woman, Cassy, stepped back and heaved a heartbroken sigh. "Then kill me, my dearest."_

_The man let out a sob, and grabbed her to him. "I could never kill you, my love. Please… let me become one of you."_

"_Then I shall change you, father." a new voice stated; a boy walked into the dining room. He eyed the table with a blurry face, and then moved his eyes to the man._

_Cassy smiled at the boy, and then to her love. "Oh, thank you. We can be together forever, Claude."_

Beep, beep, beeeeeep. I shot up in bed with a shocked gasp. My alarm clock was going off and hurting my ears. In a hurry, I slipped out of bed and turned it off. What the hell kind of dream was that? Why was Claude in it?

There was a knock on my door, much to my relief. I brushed back my hair and removed the chair from blocking it. Opening, my door, I saw Claude. He was ready for the day. He smiled at me.

"Hey, it's Saturday. Time for you to do all your big chores. I have got some running around to do, and the boys are coming with. Elly and Rylan are staying, though."

I froze. "Elly?" I choked. Had she stayed the damn night?! Claude nodded. He checked his watch, and then suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, and the girls' brother called. He's heading over. I guess he wants to help you with chores. So I will see you later, okay?"

I nodded, and he began walking away. I stared after him for a moment, and then remembered something. "Wait, Claude?" I called. He paused and turned halfway to peer at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"I…ah…" _Who is Cassy? _I blushed. "Never mind."

He smiled and waved goodbye. I sighed and glanced back at my clock. It was nine AM. First thing first, _shower_.

After my shower -which went peacefully _uninterrupted_- I threw on a pair of my old denim shorts, a plain black tank-top, and a pair of gray socks. I threw my hair into a messy bun and trotted down the stairs. Max and Elly were arguing in the living room.

"I can't believe you get angry at me for spending the night but when _you_ do -oh, hey Ava!" Max brightened up and smiled at me. I waved and walked straight to the kitchen. Rylan was sitting on the kitchen counter stool, reading a book and drinking something from a covered bottle.

"Good morning." I greeted him as I walked by and opened the cupboard under the sink for cleaning utensils.

"Morning." he returned it, taking a sip of whatever was in the bottle. I glanced wearily at it.

"Lemme guess…" I raised my eyebrows, trailing off. Rylan nodded. Yup, blood. Thought so. Good thing to keep the bottle covered. Drinking dark red liquid would look…awkward to Elly.

I sighed and took out a bucket and some bleach. I filled up the bucket with hot water and went to pour the bleach in, when suddenly someone plucked it out of my hands.

"No bleach." Rylan stated, and began digging under the sink again. I looked down at him.

"Why?"

"It burns our senses." he told me, pulling out some pine sol instead. He grimaced slightly at it. "This isn't much better, but it shall do."

I smiled thankfully toward him and poured some in the steamy water. "So do you read everyday?" I asked casually, throwing in a rag.

"Most of the time. It drowns out Lukas and Alec." Rylan said, a faint smile on his pretty face. I laughed.

"I wish I could stick to a book like that. I don't think I've read for ages."

Rylan sat back down on the stool. "We have a private library behind Claude's study. It is packed full of books all the way back to the late 1700's and 1800's."

I almost dropped the bucket when I pulled it over the sink. "Really?" I asked, amazed. Rylan gave a curt nod. I mused a moment. If Claude and them had lived in the 1700's -I grimaced; that's pretty old- then there were probably books on them, right? News? Info? Anything? "Do you think I could take a look in there sometime soon?"

Rylan shrugged one shoulder. "You'd have to ask Claude."

I nodded. Max chose that moment to enter the room. "Ready to clean?" he asked me. I held out the bucket to him. He frowned. I smiled innocently.

"You have the bathrooms."

* * *

Nearly six hours later, Max and I had accomplished the four bathrooms, four floors, my bedroom, and the dishes. I wanted to do everyone else's bedrooms, but I hadn't asked permission. Max and I entered a den room that I hadn't been to before on the first floor, and I collapse onto the couch with a relieved groan.

"I am so going to take a hot bath and sleep well tonight." I sighed, as Max sat next to me.

"Yeah. I wonder where Claude and the others went. They've been gone this whole time…" he trailed off, peering at me. I shrugged.

"I could really care less. It's been peaceful."

Max was about to reply, when a shrill, happy voice screeched from the doorway. "_Maaaaaxxx!_" His face dropped and he looked over as Elly danced into the den, followed by Alec. She was carrying a large bag full of…clothes? "Look what Alec bought me!"

She jumped onto the couch between us and dumped her bag out on the coffee table. My jaw dropped. Alec sat across from us in the armchair and smirked. He had bought her a new pair of stiletto boots, a fur coat, and a beautiful necklace with a red garnet on it. "Isn't this amazing?!" she gushed, holding up the gothic-like garnet necklace. I rolled my eyes at her.

"He's trying to buy your love." I stated, standing up. This was getting ridiculous. Elly was going to retort, but I strode past her and out of the den room. I clenched my fists as I walked down the halls, angrily cursing Alec. He was being stupid. Elly was my friend -my _best_ friend, and he was taking her away from me. We couldn't even have a decent conversation without him in the room!

I walked up a staircase since it led to the second floor where my room was, even though it was unfamiliar. I walked around a corner and realized I was lost. Did this side of the house have this many hallways? I couldn't remember. With a defeated sigh, I turned one more corner and was about to turn around, when a single door at the end of the hallway caught my attention.

It was large and brown, with a black design embedded into it. Out of curiosity, I silently stepped up to the door and traced a finger along the swirly, moon-shaped design. My hand rested by the doorknob.

Was it everybody's question on what laid behind this beautiful door? Curiosity kill the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Right? With a sharp intake of breath, I turned the doorknob. The door squeaked, causing me to pause and listen carefully for anybody. A part of me was yelling at me to stop and turn back from whence I came, but another part of me -the rebelling, chaotic side of me- was _screaming_ at me to open it and walk in.

And so, I opened it all the way. On the other side, I was met with an astonishing sight. In awe, I stared open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the colossal, black bed and the dark, soft floors. The walls were painted a deep red, and there was only one window, with a seat.

Along the walls were large, painted pictures of random scenes and landscapes. They were…_breathtaking_. I stepped into the room and approached the first painting on the wall. Scribbled neatly on the bottom of the picture was,

_London, England, 1799_.

_Rylan Darquecaster._

Once more, my awe intensified. Rylan drew this?! No, he drew _all _of these. I looked carefully at the picture. There was a cobblestone road beginning at the bottom of the portrait and leading upwards towards a horizon. A horse and carriage was strolling along the road, past walking citizens wearing lovely Victorian dresses.

I hesitantly put my hand up and traced the road softly. It was an old painting. I smiled serenely and moved to the next one, and the next. Each was better than the last. I moved to the other side of the bed and almost tripped over a face down picture. "Oops…" I muttered, stepping over it. I leaned down and pulled it up. Setting it carefully on the bed, I turned it over and…

My jaw dropped once more. I immediately let go of it and stared at it in shock. Rylan had drawn picture of me. It was perfect. He had caught every single feature of me, including the slight dimple in my smile. My own hazel eyes stared back at me, caught with the perfect mixture of color of green, brown and blue.

My naturally flyaway, frizzy red-brown hair and been turned wavy and toppled over my shoulders in the picture. He had made me beautiful. My hand was bent barely at the wrist, nearly covering my mouth as I laughed.

How and when had he drawn this of me? I never smiled or laughed so freely like this before. I touched Rylan's signature at the bottom of the portrait with a smile on my face. That was when the familiar creaking of the door being pushed open again made me gasp and jump in shock.

Rylan was staring at me from the doorframe. I blushed scarlet and moved quickly toward the door to leave past him. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to enter -I mean, I thought it was just another room… I-I'll be leaving now!" As I nearly ran past Rylan, his hand caught me by the forearm and I was pulled back.

"Stay." he said melodiously. "Allow me to draw you once more."

I turned to look at him in surprise. "W-what?" I asked, bewildered. He should be angry with me for entering his room without consent! Rylan merely ignored me and pulled me after him into the room. My heart sunk to dread when he shut the door behind us.

Nope, he was angry. And now he was going to kill me. Possibly rape my dead body too. Who knew?!

Instead, he sat me on the bed and moved away from me. I sat there, rigid, watching him with deer-in-the-headlights eyes. He grabbed a blank portrait board and three paintbrushes. He sat down in the window seat and turned towards me.

"Lay down." he said. I stared at him for a moment, and then nervously laid on my side, facing him. He peered at me for a long minute, and then shook his head. Standing up, he set his items on the seat and strode to me. Without even warning me, he grabbed my tank top and pulled it up so that it showed my stomach.

"Hey!" I gasped, putting up my hands. Rylan eyed me for a moment with his piercing green eyes. I nervously bit my lip. His eyes caught that movement.

"Stay just like that. Keep that blush on your face too." he ordered. I didn't know what to think. Whether to punch him in the face or do as he said. In one more movement, he pulled down my tank top and bra strap so it hung loosely against my arm. "Perfect." he murmured, stepping back to the seat.

I tried to do as he said instead of twitching and angrily shouting at him. He must have heard my thoughts, because as he began sketching, a light smirk graced his features.

"If you don't continue blushing, I will put thoughts into your head to make you."

My eyes widened. He could do that?! Quickly, I thought of something that'd make me blush. My mind went straight to Lukas's kiss the day before. Rylan looked at me for a long moment, musing, probably reading my thoughtful images of Lukas's cool lips, and then went back to sketching.

After what seemed like an hour, he moved onto paints. I continued thinking of Lukas's kiss over and over again until it became unreal. My blush faded and I sighed heavily in boredom. "Can we put this on pause?" I asked. Rylan ignored me. After another few minutes, I asked again.

Finally, he looked up at me and frowned. Within seconds, new images fled into my mind, causing my body to heat up instantly. Somebody with a cool body was kissing me along the throat to my collarbone, causing me to close my eyes tightly. I couldn't make out the face of the person because it was blurry, like in my dreams.

I was naked, laying on this same bed. The body above me continued to lavish me with kisses and sucking, and it was if I could feel it in real life. Oh my God, Rylan needed to stop now.

"Open your eyes, Avanni." he murmured, and his voice sent shivers down my spine. Why was he doing this to me? Timidly, I opened them, but they remained half-lidded because of the mental pleasure Rylan was forcefully shoving into my mind. This was _torture_.

Before my eyes in my mind, the stranger's hand moved lower, touching me in a place that no other had touched me. On impulse, I moaned, throwing my head back, and I caved in and rolled onto my back on the bed.

And so suddenly, the images stopped. I panted heavily, closing my eyes tightly to will the heat in my body to dissipate. "I think that's enough for today, Rylan." A cold voice spoke from the doorway. I bit the inside of my cheek in a nervous gesture. Oh man… it was Alec! Had he seen that?!

A freezing hand in comparison with my hot skin grabbed my wrist and pulled me off of the bed. I stumbled against their chest and breathed in the fresh scent. I glanced up wearily at Alec, who was holding me tightly, as he lead us out of the room. I stepped in sync with him, trying to keep up with his pace.

"That…was embarrassing…" I choked, hiding my face. Alec didn't reply. Ugh! I was going to kick Rylan's ass for this someday! Alec lead me to my bedroom and let me go. I immediately went to my bed and fell onto it face first. My door closed, and I knew I was alone. With a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes and buried my embarrassed face into my pillow.

Enough was enough for one day.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day when I woke up, everyone, not including Elly -who had gone home- was in the living room. Max sat between Brent and Claude, and the others were dispersed along the other couches. I groggily walked past them to head to the kitchen. I was still wearing the shorts and shirt from the day before, and my hair had long fallen out of its hold in the bun.

"Good morning, sunshine. Guess who's coming today!" Brent said, a smile on his face. I paused at the kitchen entrance door and glanced back at him. Wracking my brain, I remembered.

"Oh… Cassidy, right?" I asked. Brent nodded.

"Yeah. She should be here in a few hours."

I nodded and walked into the kitchen. And then I started blushing as I leaned over the sink. What Rylan had done to me came back into my memory at full force. Who had been touching me in my mind?! That's what was really bothering me. Heaving an aggravated sigh, I grabbed a cup and filled it with water.

"How did you sleep?" a voice murmured next to my ear. I gasped and dropped the half-filled cup into the sink, making the water sprinkle against the edges. I spun around and raised a fist. Rylan was standing there, his green eyes scrutinizing. I couldn't help but blush again. Immediately, I walked around him and went to the fridge. I was starving.

"I slept fine, no thanks to you." There was nothing in the fridge but a bunch of familiarly covered water bottles that weren't full of water. With a glare, I slammed the fridge shut and went through the cupboards. Nothing, nothing, nothing!

"Hungry?" Rylan asked, leaning casually against the counter. I spun on him.

"You are becoming arrogant too! I liked you when you were quiet!" I barked, feeling frustrated. It was silent for a long time as we stared each other down. Then he smirked, the first other-than-a-frown expression. I felt the images before my mind saw them.

A cold hand was spreading warmth through my lower abdomen, and I let out a whimper as my knees gave out. I collapsed onto the tiled kitchen floor and the images vanished. Rylan was hovering over me.

"You aren't so big and bad anymore." he muttered, running a hand through my hair. I winced and pulled away from him. He stood up so suddenly that it startled me, but I knew the reason why. The kitchen door opened and Brent walked in, trailed by Lukas. They both paused when they saw me.

"What happened?" Brent asked, helping me stand up. I realized I was still shaking.

"She tripped and fell. I was about to help her." Rylan lied, turning and walking from the room. Lukas gave me a strange look and then shrugged and reached into the fridge, pulling out a blood bottle.

"You know," I started, dismissing Rylan as my stomach growled, "I remember that you guys had tons of food. Now you have nothing for me."

Brent and Lukas shared an uneasy look. "Well, that's the thing. We used most of the food for the dinner when Elly was over. But for the next few days, you're going over to Becc's and Josh's."

I froze in my tracks to drinking more water and turned on Brent. "What?!" I demanded. "Why?! I thought I was in on this hunt too!"

Brent sighed. "Mother hasn't had anything to _drink_ while on the plane. When she gets here, she's going to be starving. We can't put you or Max at risk of her feeding off of you. So we emptied out the human food to make as much room as possible for blood."

"Even the cupboards?" I asked, irritated. Brent smiled apologetically.

"Besides, mother gets a bit tense around humans. She's never really liked them, even when she was on herself."

I rolled my eyes. "Great, so now your mother dearest will despise me, even though I'm keeping you guys a secret from the world just on my shoulders."

Lukas patted my shoulder. "It's a big responsibility, so don't drop it." he teased. I snorted and shoved him playfully. Of course, he didn't budge.

"So when do I leave? I get vacation pay, right?" I asked, innocently. Brent laughed.

"Aha, no. You're leaving in an hour. Just pack up a few pairs of clothes for the next two nights. You'll be back Tuesday, if we're sure mother is controlled."

I grimaced. "That sounds kind of scary."

"She is." Lukas said, his face completely serious.

So with those things in mind, I started packing a few clothes in a small suitcase Brent lent me. Then I paused, suddenly thinking of something. There had to be a way to block Rylan and Brent from getting into my mind…but especially Rylan.

I blushed furiously, remembering how the images in my mind burned my body pleasurably. Why would he do such a thing?! I thought he was a good, reasonable guy! Guess not.

So if there was a way to block them, all I'd have to do was learn it. But what if there wasn't a way? There was only one way to find out. My brain thought of Alec, for some reason. Maybe he knew the answer. He was, after all, the only one who knew what had happened between Rylan and I. I would become even more embarrassed if I had to explain my reason to Lukas, Brent or Claude.

With a sigh, I snapped my suitcase shut and carried it downstairs. "I'm ready to go." I called. Only Alec and Max were waiting. I froze. "Where are the others?"

"Already left. Didn't you hear them say goodbye?" Alec asked me sarcastically.

I narrowed my eyes. "Where?"

"Airport. Come on, load into my car. I'd hate to babysit even longer." he muttered, leaving through the front door. Max and I shared an annoyed expression, but followed him anyway. I sat in the passengers and Max sat in back.

"Hey Alec," I whispered, leaning toward him. He cast me a glance out of the corner of his eye. Max was busy listening to his iPod, thank goodness. "I need to ask you if it's possible to block my mind from Brent and Rylan."

Alec looked slightly perturbed. "I thought you'd never ask. I figured you liked being tortured by Rylan."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "Not one bit. So tell me, is it possible?"

"Yeah."

"That's it?"

"But you need to be strong."

I nearly slapped him. Instead, my fingers twitched. I gripped tightly onto the leather seats. "I am strong!"

"No, you are not."

I huffed and turned away. "I could break your stupid window with a single punch." I bragged. As proof, I tapped it with my knuckles, sending a smirk over to Alec. He glared at me.

"Break my window and I break your arm." he threatened. "And besides, I don't mean physical strength, idiot."

I looked at him, surprised. "So you mean will power? Mental strength?"

He gave a curt nod. "You have to able to imagine a wall between your mind and his power."

It made sense, after all. "So you'll teach me?" I asked, hopefully.

He snorted. "Learn it on your own time. I have a girlfriend to tend to."

I suddenly felt like killing someone. Shoving that mortifying thought aside, I said, "Yeah, who doesn't even love you."

A slight smirk appeared on Alec's face. "What gives you that idea? She surely didn't deny it when she was in my bed."

I looked at him in pure horror. "That's disgusting!" I cried out, slapping his arm. I quickly turned to glare out the window. We finally pulled into Max's house, and Max bid us goodbyes and left. Then we were heading towards Joshua's and Becca's house.

After a long silence, I finally decided to bring up the Elly situation for good.

"Whatever you're doing to Elly, you need to stop." I ordered Alec.

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked innocently.

I scowled at him. "She isn't acting like Elly! She's acting like a lovesick puppy who was just fed the best treat in the box!" I hissed.

Alec gave me the most perverted smirk he could muster, I was sure. I blushed, suddenly thinking how bad that sounded. "Perhaps I was the best treat in that box?" he asked slyly, turning a corner and parking in my driveway. Becca's and Joshua's cars were gone. They must be out.

"You're the most rotten treat in that box." I retorted, unlocking the car door. "Well, thanks for the ride. See you Tuesday."

I went to open the door, but Alec reached over and slammed it shut. I gasped and turned to stare wide-eyed at him. He leaned back in his seat and locked the doors.

"What are you doing?" I demanded hastily.

"I'm going to go over a few rules with you." he stated. I stared blankly at him. What rules? "First, there's a killer nightwalker on the loose, so don't sneak out at nighttime. And don't give me that gaping fish look, because I know you'd attempt it, what with you looking for danger and such…and second, if anybody breaks into the house, you need to call us right away. Don't hesitate. Hesitating will get you killed. If you have to run, then goddammit, run."

I stared at him, letting a small smile on my face. "Aww, you care about me!" I giggled, covering my mouth shyly. Alec looked at me with an horrified expression.

"I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth." he retorted seriously. I glared at him.

"Fine! I'm going! No need to tell me twice!" I hissed, as he unlocked the doors.

Before I had a chance to climb out once more, he grabbed my wrist. It felt like he suddenly shocked me, and I froze halfway out of the car, and stared blankly back at him. Something was familiar about his touch… He didn't seem to notice anything. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stated, "By the way, it was Brent and Claude who wanted me to tell you that. Don't think I care about you, because I don't."

With that, he let go of me, and I nearly stumbled to the pavement. He pulled my door shut and then drove out of my driveway. I watched the car disappear around the corner, and then hesitantly touched my wrist where his cool grasp and grabbed me.

With a sudden realization, I fathomed the fact that it was Alec. The one who Rylan had forced to touch me in my mind had been _Alec_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_The Little Bastard Who Escaped._

The rest of Sunday went by out of boredom. Becca and Joshua didn't get home until somewhere close around six. They had gone on a long trip to the amusement park for a date. Cute, but boring.

I lounged on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV as Becca made dinner. Joshua was sitting in the armchair reading a newspaper. Lame _and _boring. I heaved a heavy sigh and threw my head back so that it hit the arm of the couch.

"What are you doing?" Joshua asked me.

"Dying." I muttered dryly.

"Why?"

Oh _lovely_. I say I'm dying and he merely asks why. I rolled my eyes and sat up. "There's nothing to do here! At least at the Darquecaster's I could tease somebody or clean or something! But here, if I tease you you'll chuck something at me, and if I tease Becca, she'll threaten to ground me. And I can't clean, because this place is _spotless_ already." I complained, throwing my hands into the air. Joshua raised an eyebrow at me.

"Dinner will be ready soon. Then you can go to sleep." Joshua suggested, shrugging a shoulder and flipping a page in the newspaper.

I sat up and turned towards him. He looked over at the top of the paper at me, raising an eyebrow. "How did you and Becca react when you found out about the Darquecaster's secret?" I asked curiously.

Joshua let a nostalgic smile appear on his face as he set down the newspaper. Clasping his hands together, he leaned forward toward me. "You really want to know?"

I nodded. Joshua sucked in a deep breath.

"I had been in love with Cassidy, and Becca had once been in love with Claude," he began, and my eyes widened at this info, "and when they each figured out our feelings, they showed us they were already in love with each other, and not us. Well, Becca had a hard time letting Claude go, so she overreacted a bit."

I found myself suddenly knee-deep in interest. "What did she do?!"

"She told Cassidy that she wanted Claude, and Cassidy sniped an attitude with her. Becca slapped her, and well…it went downhill from there."

I stared at him in disbelief. Becca of all people?! "So basically Cassidy revealed the fact they were vampires by severely overpowering Becca?"

Joshua nodded. "After the incident, Claude became angered and divorced Cassidy for hurting Becca. The relationship Becca and Claude have now is nothing more than friendship."

"That's why Cassidy moved across the US?"

"Yep. Rebecca still had scars on her body to this day. And she let her love for Claude go because she didn't want to be with a vampire." he said wistfully.

"So she married you and lived happily ever after?" I mused, smirking. Joshua laughed.

"Maybe. Who knows?" he shared my smile.

"Dinner's done!" Becca called out to us. Upon hearing her voice, I never would have believed she'd have started a cat fight with somebody else. And to love Claude? _Awkward_.

* * *

On Monday, the guys weren't there. I had to listen to Elly complain about how her Alec wasn't at school. The whole time, I felt like slapping her. It wasn't like I was jealous…much…besides, I wanted a boyfriend. What girl didn't?

After school, I met up with Max. We were going to hang out for a bit at a park and chat. Elly was restless and claimed she wished to go with us, but we said it was our time together. She took the wrong idea and giggled, claiming that we were the perfect match.

Which was not true. In fact, a part of me wanted to say that she wasn't a good match for Alec. But what proof would I have to back that up?

"You okay?" Max asked me as we walked. I had been silent for a long time now, and we were almost at the small park already. I offered him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah…just thinking about some stuff."

"Like?"

I blushed. Like I was going to tell him I was thinking about Alec. Psh, yeah right. "I was just wondering about Elly and…Alec." I paused, making sure I didn't put too much emotion in his name. Ugh, it was all Rylan's fault!

Max and I sat down on a bench, and I studied the large field of blooming flowers. It was springtime. "Yeah, she's gotten pretty annoying since then. Alec this, Alec that. But I can't really blame her."

I looked at him, surprised. "Why not?"

Max hesitated and then smiled sheepishly. "Because Alec is pretty hot."

My jaw dropped. "Oh my God! You're gay?!" It wasn't like I cared, because he'd still be my friend, but I had thought this whole time he liked me!

Max's eyes widened and he furiously shook his head. "No, no! I like boobs! Trust me. I was just saying because he's a vampire and all…" he rolled his eyes and I laughed.

"I was just messing around." I patted him on the back and leaned against the bench. Sighing, I looked up into the sky.

"You know…" he trailed off a moment, and I looked at him before he continued, "I'm surprised you haven't fallen head over heels in love with any of them."

I sat up, confused. "Max, you know me better than that. I may have crushes, but hell, what girl doesn't like being surrounded by guys? Besides," I added quickly because of the look on Max's face, "I don't like any of them like _that_. I want to be able to love somebody and have them love me back. I want to be able to run to them when I need to, and cry on their shoulder when I have to." I found myself blabbering, and I realized that I had never really spoken my feelings to anybody before. "I want them to cry when I cry. I want them to feel happy when they see me smile. Ah…I should shut up."

Oh God, how embarrassing. I was probably blushing seriously. My face felt hot. Max smiled though. I gave a nervous grin in response. "No, I like it when you talk. Your voice is soothing." he said quietly.

I heard a bird chirping in the trees behind us, and I quickly looked away from Max. Was this one of those stupid, cheesy moments in a romance movie where the woman pours her heart out to a man and then the man declares his love for her? Oh no…

"Ava?" Max asked, and I felt him touched the top of my hand. I blinked, and suddenly stood up, my bag falling off of my lap.

"I just had a brilliant idea!" I lied, "Let's go to your house and play video games!"

Max let out a groan. "I've been playing video games for ages. Let's do something else. Something _dangerous_." he coaxed.

I shot him a look. "I'm already going through exile because of the stupid things I've been doing. I'm not going to get into more trouble." I admonished. Max stood up, picking up my bag. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on. There's going to be a bonfire party tonight behind the old building beside that apartment complex. It'll be loads of fun."

"No." I said boldly, though it sounded really…._really_ tempting.

Max nudged me in the side with his elbow. "There'll be alcohol~!" he said in a sing-song voice. I cracked just a bit more.

"Absolutely not." I turned my nose up in the air.

Max sighed and set my bag back down next to me. "Looks like I'll just have to enjoy the loud music, large fire and alcohol by myself then…with no Ava there." he sighed melodramatically. He began walking off, hands in his pockets and shoulders and head drooped.

I shattered. "_Wait_! What time is it?!" I cried out. If there were tons of people, then none of us needed to worry about one nightwalker except a few people. Max stopped and turned to me, a triumphant smile on his face.

Aw, shit.

* * *

I glanced warily at my clock. It was currently twenty minutes after ten PM. I slipped on my thin jacket and gave myself a once over in the mirror. My hair was down and slightly curled from my shower, and I was wearing an old pair of my holey dark denims and my favorite shirt, if you can remember correctly, that said, "I Consider Biting Foreplay" scrawled across the front.

Then I slipped on my flats and snuck out of my room. I walked carefully by Becca and Joshua's door, and I heard the light snoring of Joshua. Satisfied, I went straight to the door without a moments hesitation. Outside, I waited in the dark for a few, eerie minutes before a car drove up. Max was in the passengers seat, and Elly was driving. One of Max's other friends were in the back, and I quickly sat next to him.

"So, are we going to make it in time, captain?" I asked Elly jokingly.

"Yeah, maybe." she said curtly. She sounded like she was pissed off. I looked to Max and he shrugged.

"Alec couldn't make it." Max whispered to me. I sat back, irritated. That goes without saying.

* * *

The party was amazing. The fire was smackdab in the center of a large clearing in the forest, and lit up the whole perimeter. It flickered in the night sky, and the entire area was crowded with students from the school. Just like Max had said, there were nearly seven coolers full of beer and other sorts of alcohol.

And the music…was _great_. They were playing stuff from techno to rock to hip-hop. Elly disappeared into the crowd, and Max went somewhere with his friend. Oh, what a hypocrite. I stood to the side, keeping a watchful eye out for anybody…suspicious.

"Want a drink?" somebody random asked me. I looked at it. It was a wine cooler. What harm could that do? I smiled and took it, and the person walked off. I tested the cap to make sure it was still attached just in case they tried to drug me. Sure enough, it was screwed on nice and tight, and even I had trouble opening it.

Surprising myself, I downed in in a few large gulps. And that was when Elly whisked me away to dance.

A few more wine coolers.

More dancing. The fire seemed to get hotter. Somebody passed me a beer, but I didn't want to drink it. For some reason, I did anyway. My head began to get fuzzy and my vision blurred just a bit. I danced even more, wanting to burn off my sudden burst of energy. It seemed like hours passed.

Max was dancing with me now, and I wasn't sure what he was planning, what with his hands crawling underneath my shirt and-

The music screeched suddenly, and then went off. Max and I jolted quickly, and there was a scream on the other side of the clearing. What was happening? I felt too muddled to think straight.

Someone screamed again. Max and I shared a shocked look, and then someone shouted, "Call 911!"

But somebody else replied, "Are you fucking insane?! We'll all get busted! Just leave the damn body!"

A loud, scared murmur rose among the crowd, and I realized they were all gathering near the place where the screams had arisen. Max quickly grabbed my hand and we ran -me stumbling- to the front of the tumult of people. What I saw on the other side made my head spin dangerously more so.

There was a body laying on the ground, surrounded by shattered bottles. Blood rested in small puddles around the body, and I realized with a horrid shock, that this boy was Max's friend.

"Oh God…" Max trailed off, his voice shaking. His friend, Jake, I think his name had been, was motionless, eyes wide and scared. They were glazed over and lifeless. The sight of his throat made me want to throw up. I staggered backwards, staring wide-eyed at the torn up, gaudy flesh.

That was wrong. Disgusting. Vulgar.

"This has to be a joke…" I heard Elly sob behind me. She clutched onto my shoulders, but my concentration was on Jake. Lifeless Jake. _Murdered_ Jake. One thing came to my drunken mind.

_Nightwalker._

"_Everybody needs to get out of here! Leave in groups and as fast as you can_!" I heard Max shout around me. There was a sudden blur as the students starting screaming and crying out as they ran around us, trying to grab their stuff to leave. Elly was clutching onto my shoulders so hard, that I was sure if I was sober it would hurt like a bitch.

"Why aren't we leaving?!" Elly cried out exasperatedly. I turned to her, finally starting to sober up just a bit from shock.

"We need to make sure the others get out of here safely. Shit… I need to call Claude about this…" I cursed, reaching for my cell phone. The clearing went quiet, save for shouts in the distance and Max throwing water and dirt over the bonfire quickly to prevent a forest fire.

Just as I pulled out my phone, it was knocked from my hand so hard, I could have sworn I heard my wrist pop. I fell backwards from the force, watching my phone fly across the clearing and hit a tree. Elly was looking past me, her mouth open in a silent scream. I looked over quickly.

Standing there, all too familiar, was the nightwalker Max and I had encountered before, and he looked even more frightening tonight than ever. His black, hungry eyes were focused on me, a terrifying smile etched onto his face. Fangs, covered in blood were protruding from his mouth, and smears of the red liquid were across his chin and over his right cheek.

"What the _fuck_ are you?!" screamed Elly. I winced. The vampire's eyes landed on her, and my heart sped up.

"Shut up, you annoying bitch." the vampire snapped, and Elly stumbled backwards. Max caught her. The vampire looked from her to Max, and then his mouth lifted into a snarl. "You're the little bastard who escaped from me!"

Huh? Wasn't I the bastard who escaped from him? Max just helped me. What the hell was this nightwalker thinking?!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_Bite of the Nightwalker_**  
**

I could see Max trembling in fear, and tears were coming from Elly's eyes. The vampire approached them slowly, walking past me. My breath was coming in heavy pants and there was a voice in my mind screaming to run.

But I couldn't leave Max and Elly alone to die. I frantically looked around for something….anything that could hit the vampire.

"Move." The nightwalker ordered of Elly. She cried out and flung herself to the side onto the ground. Then she clumsily crawled over to me and started crying hysterically. I couldn't help but glare at her. My eyes fell on the nightwalker and Max.

Max stepped back, and the nightwalker began to circle him, like a vulture studying his prey. He was trying to act brave, but Max was sweating slightly and his body was trembling even more so. If Elly or I didn't do anything, Max was going to die. And I was sure that Elly wasn't in a state to do anything right now. My eyes landed on a thick tree branch near the burnt out fire.

Damn. If only the fire had still been burning. I heard a rustle, and then Max choked in pain. I quickly looked over, my eyes widening. The nightwalker had Max nearly a foot into the air by the throat. He was scratching at the nightwalker's wrist, trying to suck in a breath.

I shoved Elly off of me and ran to the branch. It was much heavier than it looked, but like I said, I was _physically_ strong. I heaved it over my shoulder and made my way to the Max and the vampire.

The vampire sent me a sidelong glance, his eyes narrowing. "I suggest you keep that poor excuse for a weapon on your shoulder, or I'll snap your friends' neck." he warned, tightening his fingers. Max's face went bright red. I froze.

"Stop! Leave him alone!" I cried out in a demand. "I'm the one you want! I'm the one who escaped from you! He only helped me a little bit!"

The nightwalker smirked. "Oh, yes, I know. He's the appetizer."

My mouth gaped. Elly's crying deepened. "S-so then what am I?" I asked, my voice wavering.

"You're dessert. You appear the most voluptuous, so why not?" he asked.

"Let. Him. Go." I hissed between clenched teeth, ignoring him.

"What will I get in return if you won't let me kill him? Hand me the girl?"

My eyes landed on Elly. She was curled into a ball, her face burying into her knees. I shook my head. "I won't let you have either of them. Take me, if you really want something!" I told him.

The vampire dropped Max. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The branch in my hands suddenly felt even heavier. The nightwalker began walking slowly towards me. "Why do you protect them? Humans would usually run away at first sight of me." he purred.

I didn't move….no, I _couldn't_ move from my spot. His eyes were locked onto mine, and it was if my body had froze unintentionally. "It might be because I have some alcohol in my system." I muttered, feeling stupid on the inside.

The nightwalker ran the back of his bloodied hand over my cheek. "Blaming the alcohol?" he mused, running his index fingers over my lips. I glared at him.

"Leave us alone. You've had your meal tonight. You already killed somebody innocent." I said, motioning over to the dead body of Max's friend with my head. Nothing else would move. The nightwalker didn't so much as even glance at the dead body. Instead, he grabbed the branch from my grasp and flung it behind him. Then he wrapped both his hands around my neck loosely. It was if he got off on that kind of stuff. His thumbs casually stroked my jaw.

"You are so loyal, you know that? I could turn you into one of us, and you could be my bride. I can give you an eternity of life and love." he murmured, his hands slightly tightening around my neck. My heart was pounding furiously against my chest, and I could feel my blood pumping through my veins erratically.

"I love my friends. Of course I'm loyal to them. And…I don't want to be your bride. Somebody like _you_ could never love anybody!" I spat, and as if like magic, my body moved. My hand came up and slapped him across the cheek. I knew it was the alcohol, because I could feel it buzzing at the back of my brain.

The nightwalker didn't hesitate to retaliate. His hands went from my throat to my shoulders, and he shoved me back into a tree. I let out a pained whoosh of breath as my back slammed into it. Then he grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked my neck to the side. I groaned in pain from the whiplash.

Before I could do anything, he bit deep into my shoulder. I screamed out in pain. It felt like a dozen bee stings in just that one area. My arm went numb, and my head lolled to the opposite side in a daze. The world spun around me from the pain.

I barely saw Elly come out of nowhere with the tree branch.

She slammed it upside the vampire's head, and he ripped his fangs from my throat. I crumbled to the ground, my whole neck numbed and bloody. My hand went to the wound, and came back to my vision covered in blood. Oh God, I was going to bleed to death.

"You _little bitch_!" the nightwalker snarled, turning towards Elly. She had hit him hard, I realized, because there was a trickle of dark, thick blood streaming down the side of his face.

Elly's face hardened. She no longer looked like the fearful, Alec lover. In fact, it looked like my best friend was back. The one who also loved danger. "Oh shut up, you hideous blood sucker! Alec is going to kick your ass when he gets here!" She held up her phone with a satisfied smirk on her face. For a moment, the nightwalker looked shocked.

Then he went emotionless. He looked down to me. "I'm not finished with you." he stated, and then turned and practically teleported out of the clearing. Elly dropped the branch and ran over to me. Max was just moving, I saw out of the corner of my eye. I let out a breath of relief.

They were okay.

Tears brimmed my eyes as Elly ripped off her jacket and wrapped it tightly over my flesh wound. "Stay awake, at least until everyone get's here! They'll help you, I promise!"

"You aren't shocked at finding a vampire…?" I asked in confusion. Elly shook her head.

"A little bit, but I think I'll manage to get over it…" she trailed off, eyeing my wound. She grimaced. "That's hideous."

I rolled my eyes and gave a weak smile. "Yeah, thanks for being honest." My eyes drifted closed, and I felt extremely tired all of a sudden. I wearily glanced down at my hand, and I noticed my skin looked sickly pale. "Is this where I die?"

Elly didn't have a chance to reply, because six figures approached us quickly. Six? Since when were there six of them…?

"Ava!" I heard Lukas's anxious voice. My eyes fluttered closed and then open again, just in time to See Lukas and Rylan lean down next to me. Brent was over by Max, and Alec and Claude was with Elly. The sixth figure stood a ways away, the shadows cast over them void of the moonlight. Was that Cassidy?

I was being lifted into somebody's arms, but I couldn't tell whose because I had already fallen into a deep slumber.

* * *

I woke up in my bed at the Darquecaster's. "Ugh…" I mumbled, attempting to sit up. I felt so weak and shaky. My door opened suddenly, and Alec walked in. He looked at me and paused.

"You're awake." he commented. "I need to change your bandage before we get you anything to eat and drink." As he spoke, he walked toward me, and I warily looked down at myself. I wasn't very shocked to find that I was only clad in my bra and a pair of shorts. On my right shoulder, where the nightwalker had bit me, was white bandages wrapped around my shoulder, neck and underneath my arm.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked dazedly, watching the ceiling as Alec began unwrapping the cloths. I was so nauseas and light-headed that I didn't care that Alec had a full view of my cleavage and stomach. I was glad that he tried to avoid touching my skin.

"Two and a half days. You haven't eaten anything, so you're probably feeling weaker than usual.." he said, carefully wiping up the dried blood on my shoulder.

"I feel like I could vomit all over you right now." I muttered dryly. Alec snorted.

"The only thing that would come out is your stomach, so try not to." he warned, and began rewrapping my shoulder. "I'm surprised you lived through that. You lost a full liter of blood. Any more and you would have had to go to the hospital."

"He wanted to make me his wife."

Alec stopped wrapping for a moment, eyeing me curiously. "I don't see _why_. The only thing you have going for you are your eyes. Your body doesn't have enough curves, your breasts are too small, and your hair isn't soft and tame like Elly's. Though your lips are just as full and kissable."

"I love being compared to her." I said sarcastically. Alec smirked.

"I see you're the same Ava." he noted. "Joshua and Becca will be coming by later to visit you. They didn't leave your side for over thirty hours."

I looked at him in surprise. They stayed in here for that long? I hoped they had slept… I would feel bad if they hadn't. There was a long silence between Alec and I as he tightened the bandages securely. The he picked up the old, bloody cloths and tossed them into the garbage can set next to my bed.

"Cassidy is here." he suddenly said. I looked up, startled.

"Your mother, right?"

He gave a curt nod. "She isn't very happy that we're homing a human. Now that Elly knows what we are, her and Max will be here more often." he told me.

I groaned. "Great, now she's going to be head over heels in love with you even _more_."

"Actually, she wont come near me." Alec corrected. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then I smirked.

"What, afraid you might rip her to shreds?" I joked. Alec looked at me seriously.

"I can't blame her. Though what you did back in the clearing, saving them and all, was extremely brave of you. She wants to prove herself and help us kill the nightwalker. That's the only reason she's sticking around."

"It's too dangerous for her or Max. They need to go home." I ordered, sitting all the way up, using the headboard as leverage. The red netting around my bed had been removed. Alec sat down beside me.

"I realize that, but they can be used as bait."

I turned to him in anger. "You aren't using my friends as bait! That nightwalker doesn't hesitate! He'll kill them without remorse!" I hissed. Alec raised an eyebrow.

"It isn't your choice. Cassidy is here. She will track him down, and we'll use Max and Elly to get him to a certain place and time so that the rest of us can kill him."

I grabbed his arm as best as I could without hurting my shoulder. When my hands touched his bare arm, he snapped his gaze to look at me in surprise. I felt a familiar warmth in my stomach, and I stared at him for a long moment.

"What?" he asked in irritation, pulling away from me.

I snapped out of my daze and narrowed my eyes. "As long as you keep them safe. Then what do I do?" I demanded.

Alec slid to his feet off the bed and turned away from me. "You're still wounded and weak. You won't be doing anything. I'm going to go get Claude to cook you something to eat."

And with that, he let me be alone. I stared after him, shocked. After all this time of hard work and knowing about them being vampires, I can't fight in the end. What. The. Hell?

I laid awake, staring in boredom at the ceiling and going over the scary events of that night with the nightwalker for almost an hour. Someone knocked on my door.

"Come in." I muttered.

It opened, and I didn't have to look to know it was Alec.

"Just set it on the table and leave." I ordered harshly, motioning to my bedside table.

"Wow, _harsh_." Lukas's voice said. I looked over in surprise. Sure enough, it was Lukas and he was carrying a tray with a bowl of soup and a full glass of water. He smiled at me and I returned it. "Everyone's glad to know you're okay. Claude made you his special vegetable and chicken soup."

I sat up and took the tray from him. He sat down on the edge of my bed and looked over me. I glared at him. He had left my door wide open and I was still wearing only a bra.

"I'm not embarrassed, surprisingly." I told him, not bothering to cover myself.

"You shouldn't be. I've seen it all before." he said, grinning. I rolled my eyes and gingerly taste-tested the soup. It was delicious. Lukas stayed by me as I ate. "Well, later today, if you're feeling better, we want you to meet mother."

I glanced up at him. "Alec said she isn't happy about me."

Lukas grimaced. "Not exactly. She hasn't really been around humans other than to feed off of them…so she doesn't know how to converse with one normally."

I rolled my eyes. "It isn't that hard. Can't she just pretend that I'm a vampire?"

Lukas chuckled. "You aren't nearly as strong as one of us, nor are you as beautiful."

I snorted, almost choking on my soup. "Your heads going to inflate." I warned him.

He looked slightly confused. "Why?" he asked obliviously. I stared at him with an "are you stupid" look. Then he smirked and shook his head. "My head couldn't inflate because I have you to suck out the air."

And with that, he leaned forward and before I could pull away, he pressed his lips to mine. I nearly spilled the soup and water as he pushed me slightly back. His right hand touched the nape of my uninjured neck, and his other hand touched the top of my breast, right above the hem of my bra. I hesitantly kissed back, suddenly unsure of what…or _who_ I wanted. His tongue met mine and my world nearly closed down. It would have, had not right when I began to close my eyes, I saw Alec at our doorway staring at us in…shock?

I quickly pushed Lukas away with a sharp inhale of breath. "Stop!" I gasped. Lukas pulled back and smiled at me apologetically. I looked back to my doorway, but Alec was gone. Had he really just seen us kissing? And if he did….why did I care? It wasn't like I liked him or anything…

"You're right. I should probably wait until you're healed." Lukas winked at me and stood up. "Go ahead and finish your meal and I'll come back up to take it down."

"Uh, actually, send Brent up here instead. I have to talk to him about something at school." I lied. Lukas peered at me curiously a moment, and then shrugged.

"Alright then." He then turned and left the room, closing the door halfway. I calmed my breathing and willed myself just to stop thinking about Alec. Why had I pulled away when I saw him?

I glared angrily at my soup. "I'll blame you for this." I muttered under my breath, then rolled my eyes and continued eating.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_The Feud Becomes Dangerous_

Just as Lukas had said, Brent was sent up here. I quickly pulled up the blanket to keep some modesty around him at least, because he was a gentleman. We shared a smile for a long moment, and then he walked in and closed the door behind him. "Hey. You wanted to see me?" he questioned, taking a seat at the end of my bed. I handed him my tray and then leaned back.

"I know this is probably random, but I want you to teach me how to block my mind."

Brent looked at me curiously a moment, and I realized he was concentrating on reading my mind. He grimaced. "Rylan does some unusual things sometimes…and Alec, well, he wouldn't have been much help anyways."

I blushed slightly, and then wiped sheepishly at my face. "So…can you?" I asked hopefully.

He thought a long moment and then nodded. "Yes, but first things first. How are you feeling?"

"Better. I can sit up by myself." I smiled a crooked smile. Brent returned it.

"Then would you like to meet my mother? She seems to have taken quite the liking to Elly and Max, so maybe she's okay with you living here."

My eyebrows shot up. "Elly and Max are here at this moment?" Brent nodded in response. I nibbled my lower lip for a moment and then sighed.

"Okay. But you have to wait by my door for a moment. I'm going to try to get dressed." As I spoke, I began to slide off my bed. I was still weak on my feet, I realized as soon as I stumbled forward. Brent caught me easily.

"I can help you stand." he offered softly. Then he raised a free hand over his heart. "I swear I won't peek."

I gave a tired laugh and nodded. He lead me to my dresser and I quickly pulled out a pair of nice, black sweatpants and a purple shirt with a black, gothic rose adorning the hem. I held onto Brent's arm as he helped me slip the shirt over my head and then down over my stomach. Then he awkwardly held my shoulders, with me giggling manically the whole time at such a graceless situation this was, as I pulled on my sweatpants.

Finally, he actually _brushed_ my hair and tied it into a nice ponytail. My hair was slightly dirty, and I knew I was in desperate need of a shower after I met Cassidy. Then Brent helped me down the stairs, and I took a deep breath before we entered the living room.

I came into a room where a beautiful blonde woman that appeared in her early twenties sat across from Elly, Max, Rylan and Alec, and between Claude and Lukas. Her and Elly were laughing softly about something, and I felt a slight pang of jealousy toward Elly. How had she managed to win the mother over so easily?

As if my entrance was full of eeriness as if from a catacomb, everyone turned to look at me. I finally saw the woman's face, and nearly gaped at her beauty. She looked like a model, with high-cheekbones and long eyelashes. Her eyes were also a beautiful emerald green. The green of Rylan's eyes. Her lips were painted red and plumped, and to my shock, they were turned down into a sneer as she peered at me.

"So _you're_ Avanni. The little rebel I've heard so much about." she greeted. Though it didn't sound much of a greeting. More of an insult.

Brent tightened his grip around my elbow, as if keeping me from retorting with the comeback evident on my tongue. Instead, I gave a sickeningly sweet smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Cassidy."

Brent let go of my arm and strode toward the armchair. He took a seat, and motioned for me to sit on the loveseat beside it. Instead of sitting, I stretched out onto it, and attempted to give Cassidy my forced smile. She watched me with those piercing eyes. They were just as emotionless as Rylan's were, which freaked me out just a tad. Could she put images into my mind too?!

"Now what? Do I call you Ava, Avanni or Rebel?" She suddenly asked…err, more of demanded.

"Just Ava, please." I said. Oh God, I was going to wipe my mouth out with soap. _Please_? Puh-leez.

Cassidy leaned against Claude slightly, and he hesitantly wrapped an arm around her. I could see him tensing. "In that case," Cassidy drawled, "you can call me Cassy."

I froze, and my mind went flying back to my dream. The woman had been called Cassy by Claude, right? I didn't have much time to think about it, because Claude started a conversation regarding the nightwalker.

"So far, the only information we've required from this nightwalker is his name." he began, looking to each one of us as he spoke. His eyes landed on me. "And he also suddenly seems to want Ava as his bride."

"Which is slightly unappealing." Cassy interrupted. Claude sent her a look with raised eyebrows, and she shut up. I bit my lip and kept myself from glaring at her for Brent.

"Anyways," Claude continued, leaning forward and releasing Cassy. "It will take at least two or three weeks to properly track down and kill Jakobi, now that he is most likely aware we have a tracker among us."

I raised an eyebrow. "How did you find out his name?"

Claude and Cassy shared an uneasy glance. "He was a -uh… living brother of the nightwalker we thought we had killed years ago. After we killed what we thought was the last of them, we've interpreted this new nightwalker looks a lot like the one we kill and tore in half all those years before. So, Cassy did some research, and it would seem that Jakobi is the escaped brother of that dead nightwalker."

I stared at him in surprise. "Seriously?! So basically, he wants revenge?!"

Claude nodded. "But of course. What nightwalker would do otherwise after his brother is brutally murdered while in shackles?"

There was a long pause around the room as I deciphered what he said. "Shackles?" I asked curiously. Everyone in the room looked over at me. "Shackles…in a dark dungeon…somebody killed a vampire in a dungeon….they sliced him in half from the chest up…" I trailed off, my eyes wide as the memories from my first dream of living here came flooding into my brain painfully. The horror and cries of the nightwalker getting killed made me shudder in disgust.

I saw nearly everybody except Elly, Max, Rylan and Brent sit up on the edge of their seats. "You shouldn't know that." Alec said distantly, staring at me like I had suddenly grown fangs too.

Claude leaned forward and touched my arm, knocking me out of my daze once more. "How do you know that? That happened long before you were born. That was Jakobi's brother… so how…" he paused, sharing a confused look with Alec.

"My dream…the morning I woke up screaming. It was that dream." My voice sounded so far away to me. I felt dizzy. I had dreamt something real. I had dreamt of a true murder. And the same with the Cassy and Claude dream. That had to have been Alec, because Alec had changed Claude and… I quickly stood up and put a hand to my head. "I don't feel good. I need…"

I never had a chance to finish my sentence. My weakness from loss of blood and nutrients caught up to me and I collapsed to the floor. I heard someone gasp my name, but that was the last thing I heard before the darkness overcame me.

* * *

"_So now what will you do?" An unfamiliar woman asked Jakobi. He was sitting next to a body laying on the ground motionless, face up. The hair was spread around the girl's head like billowing smoke, and there were bloody bitemarks all over her naked body. Jakobi looked up at the stranger woman and smirked, his mouth coated in red liquid as well. _

"_I'm going to allow her to die, firstly." he replied, slowly reaching to touch the unconscious girls' bare chest. He stroked her ivory flesh, as if savoring the way the blood contorted the beauty into something dangerous._

"_And then what? What do you think the Darquecaster's would say, hnn?" the woman demanded, crossing her arms. Jakobi sent her an irritated look._

"_You mean what would they _do_? Though they couldn't achieve much. Not with _her_ life at stake after all." Jakobi stroked upwards, nonchalantly cupping the wounded girl's chin and tilting her head upwards toward the light. Her face came into view, and Jakobi's chuckle sounded through the room like rain clashing against aluminum foil. _

I shot up in my bed, feeling an adrenaline rush. My body was shaking nearly uncontrollably, and I was trying to breath. I felt like I was having a panic attack. "Whoa, hey, hey! Breath! Ava, you need to breath!" Brent's soothing voice sounded beside me, and I looked over barely to see him, Claude and Alec standing by my bedside. Brent's cool fingers touched my cheeks gently, and it was enough to let me breath.

"What happened?" Claude asked, nearing my side. Alec remained where he was, staring hard and thoughtfully at me.

"Her dream. She had another one. Do you mind?" Brent asked me softly, running a reassuring hand through my hair, which had fallen discreetly out of its hold. I shrugged weakly. Brent closed his eyes and touched my temples. I waited a long few moments and Brent snapped his eyes open and pulled back.

"Did you see my dream?" I asked breathlessly. My heart was still hammering against my chest, though not as painfully. Brent was staring at me in shock.

"You… that was…" he trailed off, finally out of words to say. Alec and Claude were studying him.

"It was me." I choked. I felt hot tears brimming my eyes. The girl who had been naked and wounded and bloody on the floor had been _me_.

"How is this happening?" A new voice asked anxiously from the doorway. I looked over. Cassy was standing against the doorframe, arms across, and hair flipped casually over her shoulder.

"How is she having these dreams of the past and future? I have no clue." Brent replied quite bitterly. "Not even I can do such a thing."

"The future?" I asked, horrified. Then that was _me_ in the future with Jakobi?! Oh God, no.

Brent gave curt nod, a grimace on his handsome face. He stood up and looked to me straight on. "Do you know of anyone in your _old, biological_ family who may have had strange powers that humans could achieve? Like sixth senses or something? Witches?"

"Witches? Don't be ridiculous." Alec snorted.

I shook my head to Brent, ignoring Alec. "I haven't spoken to anyone in my biological family for…years." I couldn't quite remember how long, because I was currently distracted by everything that was going on.

Cassy stood up and strode into my room. "Well then, looks like we'll need to find out. If you have these strange human powers, then we could train you and use them in the hunt. You could be a great asset."

"I don't know whether that's a compliment or a sacrifice on my part." I muttered under my breath, but Cassy heard it and smirked in a careless way.

"Take it as a sacrifice, sweety. And remember not to get in my way until you've figured out if you can train these powers of yours." she seemed to be mocking me, but I wasn't sure. She turned and left my room without another word or glance. Brent stared after her in frustration, and Claude sighed and shook his head.

"I was really hoping she wouldn't act like this." he murmured. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Parents never really understand me." I replied.

Brent decided to change the subject. "Okay, first things first. We need to confront one of your family members. Someone who had spent a lot of time with you before you left. Someone who _knows_ a lot about you." he eyed me, and I felt my horror and hesitation well up inside of me.

"You mean…" I trailed off, my eyes widening. "Oh no…"

Brent wrapped me into a hug. "I'm sorry. It's the only way."

We were going to see my biological father, who was currently in prison. _I_ had to face my abusive father again. I suddenly felt like I wanted to go back to the darkness of my dreams then face him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_Something Else to Worry About?_

My heart felt like it was about to burst from my chest. I could only breath in short pants, and Lukas shot me a worried glance. It was just him, Alec, Rylan and I. Alec and Brent stuck with Cassy and Claude to break through their plans. Elly and Max went home before it became dark.

I sat in the back with Lukas as Rylan and Alec were in front -with Alec driving his car.

"You feeling okay?" Lukas asked me.

"I-I'm fine. I just kinda wish Brent had come along…" I trailed off and sucked in a deep breath to control my unsteady gasps. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. And I didn't even know what the symptoms were!

"Why him? I can hold your hand." Lukas gave me a cheerful grin, but it faltered when I frowned.

"That isn't it… he knows what I'm really feeling." I murmured, looking out the window. We had been driving for quite some time; the prison was in Pendleton, Oregon. The exit sign was visible to me, and I felt my heart beat faster -if possible.

"Rylan knows what you're feeling too, Oh Smart One." Alec reminded me. I glared at the back of his focused head, wishing that he hadn't been driving. Otherwise I would have slapped him hard.

"You know you aren't exactly helping a poor girl who's about to have a panic attack, right?"

Alec smirked and, keeping his eyes on the road, he said, "You just keep giving me more nicknames for you, Oh Poor One."

"You are _so_ lame." I retorted, turning hastily back to the window…a small smile on my face. Our arguments suddenly seemed a bit more funny than angry.

As he steered the car onto the exit we needed, I knew I'd be seeing my father in fifteen minutes flat. How would he react? How would I react? What was going to happen? What cruel words were going to be said?! Ugh. I wasn't sure about any of it, and it just kept making my brain hurt-

Lukas took my hand in his cool one, shocking me out of my aching mind. I glanced over at him, and he gave me a sad smile. I bit back tears and squeezed his hand. It was the most comfort I would allow him to give me at the moment.

Just minutes later with Alec's illegal driving, he parked the car in the jail's parking lot. Fences and gates stood in front of the great building, and I shuddered at the eeriness of it.

"Alright, get out of my car." Alec told me as he climbed out. I glared after him and the rest of us followed suit. I took back my hand from Lukas when we began walking. My hands were now wringing my shirt nervously. The guard at the front gate looked over at us, and then opened the giant fenced door.

When I handed the woman at the front desk inside of the building my information and legal birth certificate, she smiled and told us to wait. And so, I was now sitting in a hard, uncomfortable chair, staring straight ahead blankly at a wall.

"Wow, snap out of it. All we're going to do is interrogate him a bit. If he doesn't give us answers, then we're shit outta luck until you can remember somebody else in your family." Alec nudged me in the shoulder and I sneered at him.

"_Your_ father wasn't an abusive man who tried molesting you, was he?" I hissed just above a whisper. Alec's eyebrows raised and he looked taken back for a moment. Then he quickly recovered and crinkled his nose. But he didn't reply. Instead, he looked away.

"Is that why he was jailed?" Lukas asked me. I nodded.

"I remember stabbing him in the stomach. Blood had been everywhere and…" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I hated the feeling of having to do something so gruesome. It was like stabbing my own heart."

Lukas was about to reply, but a lady interrupted, "Avanni Maddox?"

I stood up immediately, and the boys followed suit. The woman in the police uniform frowned.

"Sorry, only two visitors at the moment."

"Then Rylan can go." Alec said. I shot him a surprised look. He raised an eyebrow at me, as if to tell me…Oh yeah, Rylan could climb into my father's mind. Brilliant. Rylan nodded once to me and then we followed the woman through a metal detector. On the other side was a cafeteria with several empty tables…except one…in the far, far corner without windows.

I stopped walking as red-rimmed eyelids with blue eyes peered at me from the slightly darkened corner. Rylan was completely, one-hundred percent focused on him as well. In fact, he looked tense all of a sudden. The only other person in the room was a man cop, who was busy reading a newspaper on the _opposite_ side of the corner.

The man whom was my father cracked an ugly smile, as if he hadn't brushed his teeth or slept in ages. "Ava, baby, how nice to see you again. It's been _years_."

My knees buckled. Rylan seemed to catch me before I collapsed, and he looked back at the cop, who suddenly seemed suspicious. "Just surprise." Rylan filled in. The cop shrugged and went back to his own business. "Come on, now." Rylan lifted me so I leaned against him, and we walked to the table.

To my relief, my father's wrists were cuffed, and his leg was fettered to the table. I let out a sigh and sat down opposite of him. Rylan remained standing. My father's eyes traveled over me, and I felt self-conscious and disgusted. Then he narrowed his eyes to Rylan.

"Who are you, boy?" he demanded. I realized his voice had become…darker, along with the stubble on his cheeks and chin.

"Rylan Darquecaster, and you?"

My father snorted. "We ain't on full name basis, punk boy. Just call me Ivan."

Rylan sat down next to me, and leaned forward as my father's eyes went back to me. To my shock, Rylan snapped his fingers. "Hey, right now, your conversation is with me." he ordered. Ivan glared at the younger boy.

"Just who the hell do you think you are? My daughter is here, so I should be visiting with _her_, not _you_."

"I don't care about what you want. We came here for answers to visions, and that is it."

My father let out a laugh. "Visions? What the hell are you on, son?"

Rylan narrowed his eyes dangerously. I almost had to look away from all the tension. "Ivan, how is your stomach doing? Any damaged internal organs?"

I stared at Rylan in shock. My father stiffened, and his face went serious again. "How do you know about that?" he asked, lowering his voice. Rylan leaned over the table and came face to face with him.

"I can do a lot more damage than she did before. I know your thoughts. I know what you want to do to her. So answer our questions before fate comes back and stabs you in the face…or the stomach."

It was probably the second most I had ever heard from Rylan…but definitely the scariest. My father, Ivan, paled considerably and moved back. Rylan sat back as well.

"So, having second thoughts?"

My father swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. His eyes went to me, but I quickly averted my gaze. "Fine. I'll answer your damn questions, filthy daywalker." he replied angrily in a low whisper. His words shocked me, and I looked up in surprise. How did he know?! Rylan of course, didn't appear so surprised. Of course, he'd know what my father was thinking beforehand.

"Wonderful." Rylan said, a small smirk alighting his face. I shivered at the cruelty reflecting in it. "Your daughter has visions in her dreams that has either happened in the past, or the future. We need to know if there was ever a vampire in your family, a psychic…or even a witch."

My father stared at me as he thought, and I began making shaky circles on the table. This was becoming overbearing. I could feel myself begin to sweat. I wanted to kick the table up into his nasty face and scream and kick some more. But that would get me nowhere.

"Your mother's grandma lived alone. I never wanted to visit the wench because she was insane. Your mother tried assuring me it was only because she could see things that others couldn't."

My eyes widened, and I was sure Rylan was just as shocked as I was. "What kind of things?!" I quickly asked, finally looking back into my fathers' tired eyes. He grinned widely.

"You talk!"

"Answer her!" Rylan snarled, slamming his hand down on the table. I jumped, and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

"What's going on?" the policeman asked. I smiled apologetically at him.

"Just old problems being talked out. Sorry."

He stared from me to my father to Rylan with extremely more so suspicious eyes, and then sat four tables down from us. I really hoped he couldn't hear.

"Things like ghosts. And supposedly she could tell the future out of a crystal ball." My father whispered. Rylan studied him a moment, and I held my breath in case my dad was lying. Then he blinked and nodded once.

"Excellent. We will be leaving now." Rylan stated, and stood up. My father's mouth dropped open. I quickly stood with Rylan.

"W-wait! Please don't leave me! You have no clue what it's like here! All alone without you!" he gasped.

I found that I couldn't turn away from him. I felt my heart hurting a bit more, but Rylan snapped me out of my pain with a cold hand on my arm. "Let us go." he said softly. I bit my lip to hide my tears and agreed silently with him. I turned my back on my father and began walking toward the exit.

That was when I heard the crash. And what followed. "_You cannot leave me here, you little bitch!_" Ivan screamed. I spun around, and cried out in fear. He had ripped out of the chains!

Hell, he had flipped the table and broken it, along with his ankle chains! My father began stomping toward me, a snarl upon his face. The policeman flew out of his seat and yanked out his tazer. Rylan pulled me back, farther from the scene. My legs wouldn't move.

I watched in horror as the man tazed my father, and it didn't even faze the jailed man. In fact, he ripped the tazer away from him and grabbed the policeman by the throat. He chuckled as he stared hungrily at the cop. I saw his eyes gleam red, and I screamed.

Rylan was there in a split second. He grabbed my father's wrist and twisted harshly. I turned away and collapsed to my knees, hiding my face in my hands as I heard the sickening snap of my father's arm.

We were saved from more trouble as at least a dozen cops ran in and grabbed a hold of my father once more. I couldn't watch as they knocked him out and re-chained him. They dismissed us and apologized, and Rylan grabbed me quickly from the floor and we were in the waiting room before I knew.

Alec and Lukas shot out of their seats, both of them appearing worried…even Alec! I didn't realize I was crying until Lukas wiped at my cheeks. "What happened? We tried to get in there when we heard her scream but the cops wouldn't let us…" Lukas looked at Rylan.

"Her father is a newly made nightwalker." Rylan stated. That was all he needed to say before I began sobbing uncontrollably.

* * *

A/N: _I AM SOOOOOOOO SORRRYYYY that I have not updated for so long. I was busy with school, thinking up new ideas, and hanging with my family. But now I finally have this chap. Whew! That took a lot of my hands! Tomorrow, if you're one of my S.O.S readers, I should be updating it._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_Escape From It All…_

"You have ESP." The psychologist told me. I stared blankly at her. What the hell was ESP? As if reading my mind, she sighed and explained, "ESP stands for extrasensory perception. It's commonly known as a sixth sense."

This psychologist was an old friend of Claude's, and she was also a daywalker. Claude ended up calling her after finding out what had happened with my father. My _nightwalker_ father. I mean, what was up with that? Had Jakobi, the recent nightwalker I'd escaped from, changed him somehow? I shuddered at that thought. What would he want with my father?

"Thank you, Rory." Claude said, standing from his chair beside me. The others were waiting outside. Rory lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Would you like me to teach her how to use it more effectively on her own time?"

Claude looked over at me and I shrugged. The dreams randomly came. "How could I control my dreams?" I inquired in a smartass tone. Rory seemed unfazed and smiled her ruby-red lips at me.

"I could feed you vampire blood, and then give you emotion tips and meditation exercises to do before bed." she replied.

I nodded, and then stopped midway in a nod, my eyes widening. "V-vampire blood?" I choked. It shocked me so much I had to suck in a deep breath to start breathing again. Claude hid a smile behind his hand.

Rory let a smirk on her face. "Yes, vampire blood, dear. We _do_ bleed. Remember, we're alive?"

"B-but, wouldn't that m-make me -I don't want to be a bloodsucker!" I gasped.

Rory laughed. Claude looked offended for a moment, and then joined in the laughter. I looked between them in annoyance.

"I'm serious, you guys!" I hissed.

"Dear, you can't become a daywalker. We're born. The only way you'd become a vampire is if you became a nightwalker. Drinking daywalker blood everyday, however, can elongate your life and heighten your senses. It's also good for your skin and hair."

I raised an eyebrow, relieved at this statement. "So, vampire blood is like drinking vitamin C orange juice and taking daily minerals?"

"Yep. Exactly so. But you only have to take it every night until you become a master at your visions." Rory told me.

I bit my lip as I thought about it. I could become prettier. My hair too! Oh -wait, this wasn't about the looks. Damn. "Okay, I guess I'll do it."

Claude smiled brightly at me. Rory nodded. "Excellent!" She stood up then, and put together all the papers she'd been scribbling on the whole time. "I'll message my friends hospital and begin having blood sent in-"

"No. Each of us men can take turns." Claude interrupted. I paled. Oh gosh. I'd have to start _drinking from_ them?!

"Uh -eh, no, it's okay, I-"

"Less money, less work." Claude said, smiling brightly at me. I groaned. This was going to get awkward. As Rory walked us out of the building, a thought suddenly came to mind.

"Does vampire blood taste bad?"

* * *

They all had agreed, with an exception of an annoyed Alec, that they would allow me to drink each of their blood a little bit. "Take a look at this." Brent slid a newspaper over to me, and I grabbed it and flipped it open.

We were currently at the dinner table; nobody else was eating except me. Cassy was chilling next to Claude far away from my chair, and I couldn't help but think she despised me. Lukas sat on my left and Rylan on my right. Alec and Brent sat across from us.

When I flipped to the second page of the paper, my eyes widened. Another murder had happened. It had the picture of the man with just his face, but it was covering the part of his neck which had been gashed out. The mans eyes were widened and glazed over in motionless horror. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

I pushed the food away and chucked the newspaper behind me, near the garbage can. "I can't believe that Jakobi… How could somebody be so cruel?" I asked bitterly. Brent leaned his elbows onto the table.

"It's a nightwalkers nature. Due to once being dead, since their mind has succumbed to darkness, their actions only follow. It's all about death to them."

I gave him a pure look of terror. "T-then why did he want me as a bride? Would he eventually kill me too?"

Brent shrugged. Alec answered with, "Of course he would. First he'd feed you a bunch of his blood, snap your neck, and minutes later you'd come back as one of them."

I stood up abruptly. "I don't feel good. I'm going to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning for school." Then I turned and pretty much sprinted to my room. I collapsed onto my large bed, satisfied that my red netting was back up, and buried my face into the fluffy pillow.

My head was spinning miraculously fast.

One, there was a nightwalker on the loose. Two, he wanted to turn me into his bride. Three, my father was a caged, young nightwalker. Four, people were getting killed. And five? I had to drink vampire blood to enhance my dream visions.

I groaned, though it was muffled by the fluff. Why would Jakobi want me? Just because I had escaped him? Because I was hard-to-get, thanks to the other vamps around me? No matter what conclusion I came to, it still didn't make sense.

My father was vicious. Seeing him come at me like that was worse than the old days. Those memories came back tenfold. I shut my eyes tightly to will my stomachache to go away.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. "Come in." I mumbled. I knew it was a vampire, so of course he'd be able to hear me. Sure enough, my door opened and closed. The side of my bed indented a bit, signaling the person sat down. I turned a bit to peek out of the corner of my eye.

Rylan sat there.

I gasped and sat upright faster than anybody could blink. I almost received whiplash. Heh. "What are you doing in here?" I demanded. I winced. My voice sounded kind of harsh. I hadn't expected _him_ though. I learned being alone with him was dangerous…_mentally_.

He merely raised an eyebrow. "You need to drink tonight. Rory said afterwards you need to clear your mind of everything and then sleep."

I grimaced. That was right. I had to drink _tonight_. "Um…okay…" I muttered, brushing a hand though my hair. How weird could this get?

Rylan lifted a wrist to his mouth and before my eyes, flashed fangs and bit deep into his veins. So deep, I heard the crunch of tendons.

Things just got _way_ weird.

I stared at him in shock. He held his wrist out to me, and I saw the welling, dark, almost black blood begin dripping down his arm.

"Y-you want me to drink that?!" I cried out. Rylan lifted his eyebrows.

"I really would prefer you hurry up and drink before it heals." he told me. I gulped the bile rising in my throat and shut my eyes tightly. I didn't open my mouth until I felt the cool blood against my mouth. It felt like melted butter. Until I tasted it, that is.

When I tasted it, my body went instantly cold, and then it numbed. Their blood didn't exactly have a _taste_. It was sweet at the same time it was bitter and metallic-y. It was as if every brain cell in my mind began working at top speed and repairing themselves. My body was tingling, and I realized I was taking gulps of his blood.

That was when the images began happening.

Rylan was on top of me in my mind, and we were kissing. Not gentle kissing, but fierce, bruising kissing, and I enjoyed it. Oh God, it sent tingles harder through my nerve system just by seeing the image. His hands were kneading my breasts, not worrying about tenderness. I moaned, and I realized that I did it out loud. When I did, I yanked backwards and sucked in a shaky breath. The images in my mind stopped instantly.

Quickly, I wiped my mouth and looked at Rylan. There was no blood or mark left over on his arm. It had already healed, and I had finished up all the blood. He was staring at me. I blushed when I remembered the images he had inserted into my mind.

"I hate it when you do that…" I murmured into my hands as I hid my blush. Rylan looked at me in confusion.

"Do what?"

I looked at him in surprise. "When you put…images into my mind…?" I reminded him. He frowned.

"I didn't. When you're drinking my blood, I can't use my powers." He said honestly.

I froze. "Then…that means…" That meant I had a vision about it. How could I though, when I was wide awake? Or had I been? No…I wasn't wide awake. Oh God… Rylan studied me for a moment and then stood up.

"I should leave." he stated. I nodded furiously.

"Y-yeah, of course."

He turned and began walking toward my door. That was when Lukas burst into my room in a hurry that shocked both me _and_ Rylan. He obviously hadn't sensed his speedy brother.

"Y-you guys need to get downstairs and look at the news! _Quick_!" Lukas gasped. His wide eyes were on me. I immediately knew something was wrong. I raced past them both and shot down the stairs and into the living room. Everyone else sat perfectly still and tense on the edge of their seats, staring wide-eyed at the TV.

"Earlier tonight, a man escaped from jail, killing four men in his way. He has said to be jailed for several years until today, for the abuse of his daughter. Until we can find this man and throw him back into prison, please spread the word that _everybody_ in this state and the next, needs to stay safe. Here is a picture of the man to look out for;" The newswoman explained loudly on the news channel. I stared in horror at the picture that popped up in the woman's place.

My father had escaped from jail.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

_A Talk With The Mother About Their Lives_

The next day when I woke up, my body felt amazingly rejuvenated. My limbs felt light and my eyesight was clear. I could hear footsteps past my room towards the bathroom, and I hesitated, but then smelled the air.

It was Alec who was walking by to the bathroom. How I knew that? I have no clue. My senses were all right-on. Was this the side-effects of vampire blood? If so, this was amazing.

I sat up, and then remembered everything on the news last night. My good mood vanished and I groaned. My dad had escaped jail, and now, at nighttime every night, he'll be on the search for blood and…most likely me. Revenge? Who knows?

The only thing I knew about it was that there were now two nightwalkers on the run at night. Maybe even more, since they can be changed. That left a dark brooding cloud over my head. I would have to kill my own father.

I waited until Alec finished in the shower, before climbing in and then getting ready for school. Nobody said a word to me as we left the house in Brent's car. Claude had already left for work, and Cassy was lazing around watching TV and drinking out of a blood packet. Gross.

I didn't get the middle of the backseat this time; instead, I said in the passengers seat next to Brent, with the three other boys in the back. "How are you feeling?" Brent finally asked me after ten minutes of driving in silence.

"Like I could run a thousand miles." I muttered. It was the truth and all, but my mood just wasn't up for being excited anymore.

"You know, I finally fixed the damages you did to my car." Lukas said to me. I smiled sheepishly at him. He leaned forward so he could say to my ear, "I was thinking of letting you off with a few kisses and such, but you'll have to make-up for the damage tonight, when you drink from me."

I was pretty sure his voice echoed in the car despite his whispering. The reason I was sure? That was easy; the car went completely silent. Brent drove without batting an eye, but his face didn't seem concentrated, more disturbed.

I shot Lukas a glare and he smiled brightly.

"Actually, she's drinking from me tonight. Father's orders." Alec interrupted the silence. I felt a part of me sigh in relief, but another part of me scream silently, _Oh my God, no!_

Lukas turned to him with a sneer on his face. "Father never told me that. Besides, we have some catching up to do, Ava and I."

I watched as an unnamed expression crossed Alec's' features, but it quickly disappeared and Alec retorted, "Take it up with _him_ then. I'm sure he doesn't want you raping the house maid." Then Alec turned to me. "By the way, you have to make up for all of the things you haven't cleaned, starting today."

My eyes widened. "_What_?!"

Brent sighed. "Would you all just shut up and leave her alone?" he asked, irritated.

I smiled my thanks to him. We finally arrived at the school, and I was the first one out. I quickly waved bye to them as I ran to the principal's office. Becca greeted me with a bone-crushing hug and a smooch on the cheek. Then I sat across from her.

"So did you hear about my father?" I asked. Her face immediately fell.

"Oh, dear. I wish you wouldn't have seen that. You won't have to worry about him though, because you're surrounded by powerful beings, darling." she said, giving me a weak smile. She didn't sound so sure herself.

I frowned. The bell to first period rang, and she nodded for me to go. I stood and went to my classes.

* * *

Lunch was a disaster. Firstly, all the periods before that I had with the boys went by in boredom, considering the teachers talked non-stop. Lunch, however, was boring and annoying all at the same time.

Elly sat next to Alec, and the first look she gave him was a sly smile. She was back to the Alec Obsess. So much for getting her back.

Max sat on my right, and Lukas sat to my left. Rylan and Brent were across from us, with Rylan reading a book, and Brent speaking to someone at a table next to ours; some pretty blonde girl who seemed more interested in Brent then the conversation.

The concept here was Lukas and Max. Lukas kept touching my hand or putting a strand of hair behind my ear, and Max was forking at his food and pouting. Or, at least, that's what it looked like. He kept shooting Lukas glares.

Suddenly Elly squealed, and I looked up just in time to see the milk drop from her hands and splatter over the table. It sprayed me, Lukas, Alec and Elly the most. I growled in irritation. The loud noises of the cafeteria stinging my sensitive ears was bad enough, but now that I had milk all over my jacket, my day had just become worse… if that was possible.

"Ohh, jeez. I'm such a klutz." Elly giggled. Alec chuckled, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach when he licked a drop of milk off of her face. She squinted her eyes to Max then. "Maxxy, can you be a doll and get your sissy some napkins?"

"Me too." Alec added.

"Yeah, same." Lukas said, taking off his jacket. Well, at least he wasn't touching me any longer.

Max glared at them all. "Get it yourselves." he hissed. By now, Brent and Rylan were watching, including the couple tables nearest to us.

Alec's eyes darkened. "Just fetch us some napkins, dog."

Sickness from my stomach turned into coiled anger, getting ready to spring any minute. Max gritted his teeth angrily and stood up, then left the table to get some napkins. I shot my worst glare possible to Alec. "Would you stop being a dick to him?!" I demanded. He ignored me. Ugh. I swear, one day, I was going to wipe that cocky look off of his handsome, sexy face.

Max returned with a small handful of napkins, and gently handed them to me. With a shock, I realized there was only enough for me. I looked up at him in surprise, and a small smile graced his cute, boyish features. I felt my heart sink.

"What the hell? I thought we said for all of us!" Alec hissed. I spun and stood up at the same time.

"Shut the fuck up, Alec!" I barked, my voice echoing through our entire section of the cafeteria. Alec looked astonished. Elly stared at me with her mouth hanging open. I didn't care about what anybody thought. Alec narrowed his eyes.

"You're going to protect your mutt? Even with Lukas beside you?!"

That blew it all. I felt a strange feeling pulsate throughout me, and for a split second, out of the corner of my eye, Rylan's eyes widened. I shot across the table, causing Elly's and Max's trays of food to go flying. Alec tipped backwards in his seat just in time to avoid my fist, but it didn't stop me from jumping into his lap and wrapping my hands around his neck.

Elly screamed and shot up in her seat. Alec's' chair fell back and he snarled at me. It sounded so inhuman, but it excited my anger, and I shoved him hard against the floor. He grabbed my shoulders and dug his fingers deep into my tender skin until I felt his short nails prick into my skin. Any harder and he could break both my arms.

The pain didn't even register as I glared furiously down at him and shook him as I choked him. It didn't seem to faze him. His own hands circled my neck, and just before he could start choking me, I was yanked off of him.

"Let me go!" I yelled, struggling in the arms of Rylan. Brent grabbed a hold of Alec to keep him from getting to me. His eyes went from dilated to normal and he looked shocked.

"Calm down." Rylan told me, shaking me a bit. I took a deep breath and let it out shakily. My body was trembling. For some reason, Rylan's voice soothed me. It must have something to do with sharing his blood with me.

"What in God's name happened here?" Becca's voice asked shrilly. We looked over at her, and her eyes fell on me.

"Just a small fight. It's over now." Brent reassured her. She looked from me to Alec, and then sighed.

"Alright. Keep it on the low please." she warned, and left the cafeteria. Almost immediately, Elly appeared by Alec's side and asked if he was okay. He shrugged her off and glared at me.

"It's nothing a vamp like me can't handle." he told her quietly, though I could hear it perfectly. Rylan still hadn't released me. His hands held me gently, but I made no move to run away.

Elly turned on me with a scowl on her face. "What the hell were you thinking?! Attacking my boyfriend like that?!" she hissed, striding toward me. I growled warningly to her, and Rylan held me tighter.

"_Your_ boyfriend continues to insult _your_ brother, and you don't do anything about it!" I retorted, struggling in Rylan's arms once more. If I could just connect my fist with both hers and Alec's' jaw…

_Smack_.

My head slanted to the side, my eyes widened in shock. A gasp recollected through a few people. _Elly had just slapped me_. I felt tears prickle in my eyes. God, wasn't I just a hypocrite?

With the last of my physical strength, I ripped out of Rylan's arms and stared at the ground the whole way I ran to the bathroom. Once there, I hid myself in one of the stalls and let out a loud, annoyed growl. Fiercely I bit back my tears and slammed a fist against the metal.

Then I sighed and leaned my forehead against it. Who the hell cared about germs?

I glanced at my iPod's time and left the bathroom. I could just head to class a few minutes early, after all. I paused when I left the bathroom. Rylan was waiting across the hall for me. When the squeak of the door opened, he looked up expressionlessly at me.

"Would you like to go home? Becca excused you." he said. I blinked several times to prevent tears. Then I nodded.

"Please." I begged.

"Brent allowed me to use his car. The others can get a ride from Tiffany." he said.

"Tiffany?" I asked as I followed him out of the school.

"A girl Brent has found an interest in."

Ah, that must have been the pretty girl he had been talking to. We climbed into the car, and Rylan started it. It was silent halfway through the drive, because obviously he wasn't a big talker. Then I realized something.

"Is Cassy going to be there?"

"Most likely." he answered. After another eerie moment of silence and the rumble of the car, he asked, "Why did you attack him?"

"He was being an asshole to Max, why else?"

Rylan shook his head. "No, I know you. You would never act like that in a room full of people. Was it my blood?"

I looked out the window and decided it best not to answer. Rylan pulled into the driveway of the large Darquecaster house and pulled the car into a stop in front of the garage. When he made no move to get out, I looked over at him.

"Before you attacked him, not only could I read your mind clearly, but I could feel _your _anger inside of _me_."

My eyes widened. That was why he had looked so shocked before I did what I did. Obviously sharing his blood with me meant more than heightening my senses. That thought made me shiver.

"Come to my room with me. I wish to draw you again." he suddenly said, opening his door. He shut it before I could shake my head or say no. With a heavy sigh and a hope he wouldn't mind-rape me again, I got out of the car and followed him into the house.

Cassy was where she was from before, sitting and watching TV. She looked up at us and frowned when we walked in. "School doesn't get out for another couple of hours. What are you two doing?"

"There was an incident between Alec and Ava. Elly overreacted and I decided to bring Ava home." Rylan answered as he moved through the living room to the staircase. Cassy stood up.

"Great timing then, I need to speak to her." She looked over at me as she spoke anyway. Then she looked back to her son.

I felt uneasy. Rylan lifted his head to stare her in the eyes as he paused at the bottom step. Their green eyes seemed to deflect each others words. Rylan turned then. "As long as you've had your drink for the day, then go ahead. Ava, meet me in my room when you're ready."

I took a deep breath of oxygen when he left us alone. Cassy turned to me with a dissatisfied face. "Take a seat, then." She motioned to the couch across from her. I carefully sat down, watching her with narrowed, suspicious eyes. My hands were shaking. Was this going to be the whole, _You're a human and I don't want you near my sons,_ kind of talk?

Cassy sat back down and stared at me for the longest time. I felt a lump form in my throat as I tried to stare back at her without averting my eyes.

"I'm sure," Her talking startled me, and I jumped, "that you and I are both aware that I don't appreciate you being here."

Her words made my heart leap into my throat. Shit, shit, _shit_! This was when I wish Claude was here. "Y-yes, I'm highly aware." I managed to say, my voice cracking a bit. Cassy frowned.

"And I really don't appreciate the fact my sons have to give you their blood. The thought of you putting your lips among them makes me shudder in disgust." she said, her face unchanging.

I clasped my hands together to keep myself from choking whatever vampire life she had inside of her. She continued on.

"But unfortunately, because I love Claude so much, I have to deal with you for the rest of your human life."

My heart dropped and my body tensed. "Wait, what?" I wasn't sure what I was asking her to explain; the dealing with me part or the fact she said the rest of my life. What could that mean?!

Cassy leaned forward and grabbed the cup half-filled with blood on the table. I watched her take a sip of it and it was all I could do to keep myself from shuddering in disgust. Although, I guess I couldn't do much, considering vampire blood was delicious.

"Claude's sons have taken a liking to you. Especially Brent and Lukas. I now realize Rylan is loosening up. I don't think I've ever heard him talk so much in years. With him, it was three to five words a day. I've talked to Brent and Lukas as well. Brent believes you are what could stabilize Rylan and Alec. He thinks of you like a sister." She said it in slight disgust, and it only got worse when she spoke of Lukas. "And Lukas, well, he's too into you. It's almost like an obsession. I really don't understand why. There's," she paused, and looked me over, "nothing to obsess over."

I swallowed the angry lump in my throat and pushed down that familiar spring of anger. "Where's your main point in all of this?" I demanded, surprised to find my voice working with me finally.

Cassy set down her cup. "I guess my point is that, despite the men's' likings for you, one wrong move on your part, and I'll see to it that you're gone. Not only does Claude have to deal with a human slut, but now he has to kill two nightwalkers. You've caused us so much trouble. I don't want you ruining our once perfect life."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

_Rylan, You Pervy Boy_

What was I supposed to say to the mother of four sons and the ex-wife of a sweet man? Nothing. Nothing at all. So I gritted my teeth and nodded in response. "I understand, Cassidy." I said in a low voice. I was clenching my fists, even though I could feel my heart thumping against my chest and my blood pounding in my ears.

God, what had happened to me? I used to have tons of patience and smart comebacks. Now I just wanted to rip her throat out. Cassy smiled at me in satisfaction -well, more of a sneer on her, and turned away from me and back to the TV. I stood up, walked until I hit the staircase, and then ran as fast as I could to Rylan's room.

Without knocking, I burst into the room and stopped short in shock. He was _already _setting up another poster board and paints. He looked up at me with his usual stoic face and motioned for me to sit on the bed.

I shook my head. Walking all the way in, I slammed the door behind me and walked over to him in anger. "What did you do to me?" I barked viciously. He paused from sorting his paints and raised his eyebrows without looking at me. I could barely see his face since his hair was covering a portion of it.

"Nothing."

I reached forward and moved his hair from his face and grabbed his chin with my other hand. With more force than I intended, I turned his head to look at me. He narrowed his eyes. "What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?" I hissed under my breath. "I'm angry about the smallest things and always feel like jumping somebody!"

"It wasn't me. Rory never warned you of the side effects?" he asked, almost sounding amused. I gripped harder on his chin. It didn't faze him.

"No, she didn't. So _you_ tell me."

Rylan grabbed my wrist and pushed me away. I stumbled backwards towards the bed and sat down. "Drinking each of our blood types will cause different emotions inside of you. I suppose my blood causes anger." he set down another paintbrush and looked back at me.

I stared at him in shock. "W-what? That's…that has to be impossible!" I whimpered. Oh gosh, what would Alec's blood make me do? Make me feel? I felt my body shudder when I remembered the vision that Rylan had given me, when it had been Alec touching me. It made my body heat up.

"Why are you thinking about him?" Rylan asked. I jumped in surprise and glared at him.

"Quit doing that! Minds are supposed to be personal!" I growled. Rylan lifted an elegant brow.

"Obviously. Just don't think about him or any other man when I'm around. The one time was enough."

"Psh, bite me." I mumbled in response. Then I covered my mouth and started laughing. "N-never mind."

"I might just take you up on that offer." Rylan muttered, but stayed where he was.

What he said before that suddenly comprehended. "Wait, so you expect me to only think of you, or something? What if I want to think of Lukas?"

Rylan snorted, which seemed almost humanely impossible for a vampire like _him_; so much it almost shocked me off the bed. "You don't seem to be the type to go for someone as persistent as him." he mused.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe I like it when he kisses me." Wow, was I just trying to piss him off or something?

Rylan didn't reply to that, instead, he ordered, "Lay down, pull your shirt up your stomach a bit, let one of your sleeves fall down and splay your hair over the edge of the bed."

I stared at him incredulously.

"_Now_, or else I'll be doing a lot more than biting you." he threatened. I quickly -and nervously- did what he told me to do, and laid on my side. He stared at me for a long moment until I felt my face heat up.

"So," I changed the subject when he began sketching, "what are all these drawings of me for?"

"I'll be selling them. I've been doing this for years. It's one of the largest ways we earn money."

My eyes widened. "Really? I figured if you were a vampire and alive for tons of years, why not become a stock owner?"

"Because if we make ourselves well-known, people will begin to get curious as to why we never age."

"Oh." I replied stupidly. That made a lot of sense. It seemed to take forever until he started talking again.

"I want to redo this picture." he said suddenly, making me groan in frustration.

"Are you kidding me? I've sat here for what seems like hours and my muscles are all sore and tense and you want me to sit here for another hundred and two hours?"

Rylan set aside the poster board and stood up. "No. I want you to strip and sit back and _relax_."

His words made me falter. "W-what? Y-you're kidding r-right?" I stuttered, staring at him with wide eyes. He paced towards me, stroking the side of his bed as he neared me.

"I can always help you." he spoke to me while staring into my eyes. I felt my stomach turn in a good way, and my blood rushed through me. Why did I suddenly feel like this? Was it because of my stupid connection through him with his blood?

"I don't like you though." I managed to murmur.

"I always get what I want." he finished our conversation by slamming his lips into mine. I let out a loud moan and fell back to the bed, taking him with me. My head went fuzzy and little stars seemed to dance in front of my closed eyelids.

I suddenly seemed to stop thinking all together. His hands held mine down, even though I wasn't trying to push away. His whole lower body was pressed against mine, causing me to feel _everything_.

I wanted him closer. I tore my mouth from his just long enough to latch it onto his throat and stifle an aggravated moan. He seemed to get the picture and released my hands. Without even comprehending, I reached down and grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it upwards. He growled pleasantly in response and began to unbutton my pants.

"It's too much…" I found myself whimpering. I pulled his shirt off and wondered what the hell I was blabbering about. Before I realized it, my pants were off and Rylan lifted my shirt up and over my head, leaving me shivering in reaction. His mouth met the smooth column of my throat, and I could have sworn he gave an animalistic whimper of his own.

I leaned up against him and tipped my head back, suddenly wanting him to bite me. What would it feel like? Would it hurt? Would it feel good? He paused a moment and his body tensed. His mouth froze, half opened at my neck.

"Rylan…?" I whispered, my voice sounding throaty and sultry.

I didn't get a chance to gasp or pull away, because one minute everything was heated and sexy, and the next, Rylan's mouth opened widely and two sharp points stabbed into my throat, causing me to give a strangled yell. It felt like someone had just stabbed two syringe's into me and released a searing hot liquid through my veins.

I grabbed Rylan's shoulders and shut my eyes tightly, trying to shove him away. "R-Rylan!" I cried out, my voice now frantic and scared. He bit down harder, and this time I could _feel _his fangs deep in my throat. I made a strange choking sound and then all the pain stopped.

My body felt like a thousand tons had collapsed onto me, causing me to fall back to the bed, releasing Rylan. His grip on me loosened, and my head fell back against the pillow, baring more of my neck to him. He took it gladly, moving his head so he could get more blood.

It felt so good all of a sudden, like a burst of hot pleasure through my veins in my neck that seemed to go through my stomach and pool between my thighs. It caused me to shudder and I let out a low moan.

He groaned against my neck and pressed into me again, making the pleasure seem stronger and hotter.

"_Rylan_!" Cassidy's voice cried out. Everything between the male vampire and I shattered. He retracted his fangs and sat up, face slightly surprised. There was blood smeared across his lips, making him look dangerous. His hair was tousled and his dilated eyes went back to normal.

My body's true feelings came back to me. The pleasure in my body vanished, and the pain in my neck intensified. I cried out and put my hands to cover my throbbing neck, and I felt warm, sticky liquid pooling there. My hands came back to my view and my eyes widened when I saw my blood covering them.

Cassy clucked her tongue. "He hit your jugular. Now you're going to bleed to death."

* * *

A/N: Sorry the chapter was so short; busy day(s). I'm going to update S.O.S soon.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

_I'd Rather Go To Hell_

The red, warm liquid dripping from my neck and staining the front and back of my shirt made me feel dizzy and sick to my stomach. Cassy stood at the doorway, only snorting and shaking her head in distaste. Rylan was staring at my blood as if he didn't know what to do.

"I-I can't die…" I choked, hot tears burning my eyelids. Cassy chuckled.

My words seemed to bring Rylan back to life, because he leapt off the bed and left the room in a matter of two seconds. I was left with the psychotic woman who wanted me dead anyways.

"It's unfortunate, really, Avanni dear. If we daywalkers were anything like nightwalkers, we'd turn you into one of us, but…we aren't nightwalkers and we have no way of changing you."

I didn't even look at her. My eyes were glued to my front, where my blood made little rivulets between my breasts and darkened my light colored shirt. My head spun dangerously, and little black specks shrouded my vision. God, I was going to die by bleeding to death, I realized.

What could get worse than this? Why wasn't I panicking? Was I just too weak?

My stomach turned suddenly, and my bloody hand went up to cover my mouth so I wouldn't throw up. I groaned and collapsed against the mattress, tightening my hand over my mouth and then covering my bleeding neck. The world feinted around me, and everything went dark. I was absolutely sure I was dead.

"_So now what will you do?" An unfamiliar woman asked Jakobi. He was sitting next to a body laying on the ground motionless, face up. The hair was spread around the girl's head like billowing smoke, and there were bloody bitemarks all over her naked body. Jakobi looked up at the stranger woman and smirked, his mouth coated in red liquid as well. _

"_I'm going to allow her to die, firstly." he replied, slowly reaching to touch the unconscious girls' bare chest. He stroked her ivory flesh, as if savoring the way the blood contorted the beauty into something dangerous._

Why did this dream seem so familiar?

"_And then what? What do you think the Darquecaster's would say, hnn?" the woman demanded, crossing her arms. Jakobi sent her an irritated look._

"_You mean what would they _do_? Though they couldn't achieve much. Not with _her_ life at stake after all." Jakobi stroked upwards, nonchalantly cupping the wounded girl's chin and tilting her head upwards toward the light. Her face came into view, and Jakobi's chuckle sounded through the room like rain clashing against aluminum foil. _

My eyes snapped open. I had had that dream before. The white ceiling above me tilted in my vision, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut again to keep from getting a terrible headache. That was when my hearing focused in on the voices.

"She's going to need more vampire blood soon." a male's voice stated in the distance. I couldn't recognize it, but for some reason I was sure he was talking about me.

"That would be my job." Alec's voice said. He sounded slightly annoyed, but just hearing a familiar voice relieved me. I wasn't in enemy territory. What had happened to me, again?

I thought a moment, wracking my throbbing head for an answer. I heard soft footsteps coming towards me, and I suddenly remembered Rylan and Cassy. I had been in Rylan's room, he had bitten me, and I bled to death.

No, no, no. That's impossible. I was alive.

"You're awake?" Alec assumed. My eyes snapped open again, but I winced, adjusting to the light and the sudden twirl of Earth. I focused in on the vampire boy, who stood next to the bed I was laying on. He had one eyebrow raised as he looked down upon me.

"I-I should be dead…" I murmured. My voice felt scratchy and throaty. I grimaced. How _uncool_.

Alec pulled over a stool to sit next to me, and I realize we were in a hospital. How would the hospital people know about vampires?! "You _should _be dead. You got lucky though because of Rylan's blood circulating through you. Half of what bled from you was his." Alec told me. I stared at him in miraculous wonder. Seriously?

"But…he was drinking from me…" I muttered, raising a trembling hand to the side of my throat.

"Sure, your human blood. But when his mouth left your throat, the vampire blood came through." Alec shrugged his broad shoulders. "Don't ask me how it happened. I was actually with Cassidy on that whole topic."

I narrowed my eyes at him. My hand felt the large gauze pad attached to the column of my throat, probably covering two fang marks. "Wow, I feel _so_ secure." I muttered dryly. Alec smirked.

"Back to your old safe, eh?" he mused. Without warning, he slipped an arm under my shoulders and neck and pulled me to a sitting position. I pulled away from him, not enjoying how his touch felt against my bare skin.

Hold up.

Bare skin?

Again?

…_Really_?

I looked down at myself in disbelief. "What the hell is with you vampires undressing me until I wear nothing but my bra and underwear?!" I hissed.

Alec lifted a wrist to his mouth, but paused so he could reply, "It wasn't us, it was the doc."

I looked toward the door, making sure it was closed, and then I heard the sound of flesh being bitten into. It was the same sound I had heard when Rylan had bit into his wrist. It caused shivers to slither down my spine and I resisted looking at Alec.

"How long was I asleep?" I managed to ask in a shaky voice. I didn't really feel dizzy, just disgusted with having to continuously drink vamp blood, even though it tasted heavenly. In my state of nervousness, I began asking more questions, "How does the doctor know about vampires? Were you serious about being on Cassy's side? Because if so, I won't be able to feel safe with you, you know that? Not that I could in the beginning but-"

"Shut up." Alec shoved his wrist to my mouth and I had no choice but to taste his blood as it crept into my already open mouth. I groaned in irritation, but when the strangely flavored-unflavored blood touched the tip of my tongue, my irritation dissipated. Was it just me, or did Alec's blood taste even sweeter than Rylan's?

I unintentionally leaned against Alec as my hands went up to grasp his arm tightly to keep it there so I could drink his life force. I barely comprehend the fact through my hazy mind that Alec wrapped his other arm around me and buried his face into my hair.

I drank until he finally pulled back. When he did, I whimpered in response, trying to reach back out to his blood. I felt like I was on a high or something. He tasted so good, I wanted more. He stood just out of my reach as his wound healed up. He smirked at me.

"I wouldn't want you to get infatuated with my blood. It is, after all, highly addictive."

Sheesh, his pompous words totally woke me up from the high reverie. I snapped my mouth shut and wipe my arm over my lips to get rid of any excess blood, which was now smeared on my forearm. Then I glared at him.

"It wasn't addictive at _all._" I lied, laying back down and bringing the sheets up to cover my breasts.

Alec turned away from me. "Yeah, _okay_. I believe you." He said it sarcastically, which meant he obviously didn't. "Anyway," he added, before I could retort, "I'll get Claude and the doc in here to check up on you."

And then he left. I felt a part of me start hurting when he didn't even look back at me once. I told myself it was the stupid blood I had just drank.

* * *

So Claude had made a pact with a bunch of doctors at the hospital, and _that_ was how they knew about vampires. Claude had threatened that if they didn't keep the secret, he was going to eat them all alive.

Okay, so, it sounded kind of deranged, but it had worked, and the doctors soon became his friends. That had happened years ago. The doctor that joined him was a nice, older man named Jonathon. He allowed me to call him Jonny for short.

Whoop.

He had checked my vitals, blood sugar, eyesight, hearing, and even offered to check for any brain damage that may have happened from the blood loss. I had still lost a lot of my own blood, thanks to Rylan. When everything turned out fine and I had no mental impairment that I probably hadn't already had, he allowed me to leave the hospital.

Claude, Alec and Brent had taken me. Lukas stayed with Cassy and Rylan. I sat up front beside Claude as he drove away from the hospital. "So how are you feeling?" he asked me. It was later midday, three-forty-five to be exact. The sun was bright in the sky from late summer still.

I realized I had been asleep for about a night and part of the day. I had obviously missed school as well today. I glanced at Claude with a smile on my face. "I'm fine. I just hope these fang marks heal soon so I can go back to school tomorrow."

Claude nodded. "Alec's blood will take care of that. Why don't we stop by Josh and Becc's house? They're worried about you. When they came to visit you in the hospital, you were still asleep. I didn't want them staying out for too late because of the nightwalkers though."

"So you sent them home, right? They're safe?" I asked unsurely.

"Of course. I would never let anything happen to Becc."

His words made me freeze, and same with the boys in the back of the car. They silenced from chatting quietly. Claude seemed to catch what he said and quickly added,

"And Josh of course. They're both my great friends."

I looked at the side of Claude's face. He looked slightly hurt, and I realized he _was_ deeply in love with Becca. Did Cassy know that still?

We turned down the street to my adoptive parents house, and my heart leapt in excitement when I recognized the familiar house and my baby that was sitting in all her glory in the driveway. God, how I missed my car. Too bad I still had like eleven to ten months until I could drive her again.

As if hearing Claude's car, the front door to the house opened and Becc ran out to greet me as I climbed out. She wrapped her arms so tightly around me that I almost choked. Then she left a giant kiss on my cheek and grabbed my hand.

"Josh is making cookies for your return. Please, even though you vamp's don't eat, come in, come in!" She motioned for the boys to follow her as she dragged me behind her.

"I hope they're peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies." I warned her. She shot me a grin and nodded.

"Of course, darling. I would never forget your favorite treat."

I grinned happily. I loved Becc and Josh so much. They were the best parents anyone could ask for.

Claude, Alec and Brent followed after us, and Josh was in the kitchen pulling a tray of freshly delicious smelling cookies out of the oven. When we entered, he looked over and smiled at me toothily. He strode over and wrapped me up into a bear hug.

"Dear lord, I'm so glad you're okay. If I could kick Rylan's ass, you know I would." Josh joked. Claude chuckled.

"I'll have that taken care of, don't fret."

I smiled as Josh let me go. "I hope you didn't poison those cookies."

"Nope," Josh reply, taking one of the soft cookies off of the tray and handing it to me on a napkin, "they're hot and filled with love."

I grinned and allowed my cookie to cool off.

"So will she continuously drink vampire blood to heighten her visions?" Becca asked Claude. Claude smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes. Rory will be visiting with us soon this week to begin her meditation and thought processing." Claude explained. Suddenly, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach when I remembered that dream that I had had.

"Um… about that…" I muttered, setting my cookie down on the table. I felt kind of sick, remembering how the nightwalker, Jakobi, had me unconscious and bloody and naked on the floor.

Everyone in my room looked at me and Brent sucked in a sharp intake of breath when he crawled into and read my mind. "Are you serious?" he demanded, grabbing my arm and forcing me to look his way. I avoided his gaze and bit my lip nervously.

"Yeah… it was the second time I had had that dream, too." I murmured.

"Wait, what dream? I'm not following here. I don't have mind powers like you, son." Claude said, stepping towards us. Brent didn't look away from me, but I suddenly felt a weird feeling sweep through the room. I blushed deeply.

Oh God, he was sending what he saw from my mind to everybody else's minds. I was naked in that dream, dammit! The tingle in the air died down, and Becca cried out in shock, sitting down so fast in a table chair that Josh had to hold onto her. He had wide eyes and a shocked and scared expression on his face.

Claude's face went stoic and hard. Alec blinked in surprise and looked straight at me. I quickly looked away.

"We aren't going to allow that to happen to you." Claude said suddenly, breaking a long silence. Only Becc's sobs could have been heard. I turned to her and wrapped my arms around her. She gripped my tightly, and Josh kissed my forehead.

"Of course not. Ava is my only daughter. I won't let it happen. We will kill Jakobi." Josh said softly.

I buried my face in Becc's shoulder and tried not to cry. Someone was patting my back while Josh gently touched my hair. I didn't want that to happen to me, not one bit. I would go to Hell before I became a nightwalker.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20****  
**

_To Escape, or not to Escape?_

I never thought school could get so difficult. I missed a couple days and I was knee-deep in homework. Rylan had avoided me; actually, he had pretty much avoided everyone. The night five days ago, when we arrived home from Becca's and Josh's, Claude disappeared with Cassy and Rylan somewhere in their huge house, and Brent filled Lukas in on the details and my dream.

Now it seemed that everybody but Rylan and Cassy were around me twenty-four-seven, as if the nightwalkers could suddenly figure out how to walk in the daylight. Hah, I highly doubt that. Although, weeks ago when I first moved into the Darquecaster house, I had doubted vampires in general. I supposed it was best not to make silly acquisitions.

In the past week, there had been no sign of any nightwalkers, for which I was grateful for. Seeing my father a nightwalker only made him a million times worse. Jakobi, the escapee nightwalker of many years, was out to change me into a creepy, nocturnal crawly like himself and my father.

Every night, I fed from each vampire in an easier way. Claude thought it would be a bit less intimate by getting their blood drawn and then having me drink it from a cup. My emotions were on the run like I was PMSing the whole day every day. I ignored it and just kept out of the way of bickering and assholes… such as Alec.

School was a drag like usual. Elly hung all over Alec, while he and Lukas teamed up on Max everyday at lunch. Both him and I got used to it, began ignoring it, and started chatting together with Brent and his new girlfriend.

Ah, did I mention the girlfriend? Well, her hair was blonde, but she was so much smarter than anyone gave her credit for. She didn't act like the preps that she hung out with. In fact, I think she had a great head on her shoulders. Much better than Elly. Shit, Tiffany didn't even goggle over Brent. She just flirted and talked about a lot more interesting things than Elly.

Plus she was gorgeous. Her hair was a dirty blonde that curled down and over her breasts in thick strands. Her eyes were slanted like a cats and a pretty hazel-green. She had a flock of freckles adorning her tiny nose and high cheek bones that set off her plump lips. If it wasn't for her tanned skin, one would have thought she was a vampire. But comparing her to Cassy, she wasn't even close to the beauty of one.

Tiffany was as human as human could be.

Brent shot me a look as he read through my mind, and I smiled apologetically, turning back to Max.

"You were saying something?" I asked. Around me, Lukas was talking to Brent and Tiffany, while Alec and Elly spoke quietly to each other. I tried with superhuman effort to ignore the sour feelings toward Elly. Rylan had skipped lunch and was always somewhere else since biting me.

Max rolled his eyes. "Uh, yeah. I was wondering when you were moving out of the va- Darquecaster house." He quickly caught himself, eyes widening a bit. I gave him a reprimanding look and shrugged.

"Not for like, ten months." I sighed.

"Did it really have to be a year? You've already learned your lesson." Max assumed. I snorted on my milk and laughed.

"Nah, are you kidding me? First chance I get and I'm hitting it off at a party, hitting 300 miles per hour in my baby, and setting the school on fire."

"No, you aren't." Brent averted his gaze from Lukas to me with a stern stare. I gave him an innocent smile.

"What?" I asked, smirking. Brent raised an eyebrow at me. Tiffany leaned towards me then, giving a terrible view of her cleavage and interrupting Brent with whatever he was about to say next.

"Did you see that one show, Lost, last night?" she asked. I suddenly wondered if she interrupted Brent on purpose. He frowned down at her.

I shook my head. "Nope. Sorry."

Tiffany grinned and started talking to Lukas again. Brent gave a half, lazy roll of his eyes and turned away as well. Haha, I was starting to like Tiffany. I looked back to Max, and he was staring at Tiffany as if she were a goddess.

Oh shit.

This homework was going to kill me. I stared at the math book's pre-calculus, wondering how the hell I had made it to this math class. I groaned and let my head drop onto the pages of the thick-ass book. I was so tired.

The past few days all I had been doing was studying, chatting to Josh and Becc, cleaning the Darquecaster house like mad, and avoiding the nighttime as much as possible. I never thought being a good teenager could be so much hard work.

A knock resounded on my door and I sighed and sat up, wiping my eyes free of sleep. Glancing at my clock, I called, "Come in." It was almost nine at night. My door opened and Alec leaned in partially. I resisted groaning in response and just ignoring him. He probably had something important to say anyways. Kind of hard to ignore him, compliments to having just drank his blood like half an hour ago.

"Rory is here finally." he said, and then disappeared. I shot up from my seat. So far, which was very convenient, I hadn't had any visions. Claude had told me from Rory that it was because I hadn't trained very well under it yet.

I slipped on my black fuzzy slippers and opened my door all the way. The hallways were darker, considering it was nighttime and they had left the lights off. I headed towards the stairs, when suddenly my cell phone rang from my room. It was a really soft ring, but I could hear it. Sighing, I turned quickly and went back to grab it.

I lit up brightly when I saw it was Becca. Flipping it open, I answered, "Hey mom. I was just about to speak to Rory and-"

"Rebecca isn't here at the moment. But you can always leave a message with me so I can give it to her." My real father said with a smirk in his voice.

I sucked in a sharp gasp that made me dizzy. My hands instantly started trembling so terribly that I nearly dropped the phone. Why the fuck was my dad with Becca?! "Where is she?" I demanded, my voice going colder than an icicle despite the fear clenching inside of me.

"Is any uh… pussy boy around you?" he asked simply. I gritted my teeth, turned and shut my door silently, hoping nobody could hear me.

"No, everybody is downstairs." I replied quietly.

"Pleasant." he said, chuckling lightly at the end. "Now don't fear, Avanni. I merely stole her cell phone, and I'm currently standing outside of her house. Meaning, I know where both Joshua and Rebecca live. They're your foster parents, eh? Pretty selfish of them to take you away from me."

I fisted my hand tightly around the cell phone. "What was the point of this call if you aren't holding them hostage?"

He snickered, sounding much like the morbid creature he was now. "That's the thing. I won't hurt them until I know for sure that you'll come visit me."

My voice got caught in my throat, my eyes widening. "I-I can't…"

"This was just a warning to you, that I won't hesitate to hurt them. I want to meet you tonight, close to midnight. That'll be okay for you, won't it? After all, I heard you're quite the rebel still."

I gulped the knot in my throat and managed to ask weakly, "Where at?"

"Remember the old apartment complex you used to drive by often?" he asked. My heart clenched. Jakobi must have told him that.

"Yeah… I remember."

"Be there by midnight, _alone_. If I smell any daywalker coming close, I'll be at Rebecca's house faster than either of you can blink. Understand?"

I let out a breath and managed to breathe, "Yeah."

Then the line went dead. I snapped my phone shut and threw it at my bed with a shriek of anger and terror. I hadn't even meant to shout, it just happened. Within seconds, my door was opened in a rush.

"What's the matter?!" Claude demanded, Rory and Brent behind him. I froze, staring at Brent with wide eyes. His own eyes narrowed when he read my mind instantly.

Shit. He opened his mouth, and with Alec's' vampire blood inside of me still, I made it to him to instantly cover his mouth. "Mmmf!" he glared down at me, grabbing my wrist.

"Um, Ava?" Claude asked. Brent moved my hand from his mouth with his own strength and I immediately let out a shrill hyena laugh that totally made everyone there probably think I was not only rebellious but stupid too.

"I just remembered something! Brent and I have to speak privately!" I turned on Brent, drilling him with my sturdy glare as I smiled falsely and added, "_Right,_ Brent?"

His expression went from confused to suspicious in seconds flat. Then he narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Right. Alone." He grabbed my forearm, dragging me from my room and through the halls. His room was near the same hall as Rylan's, but his door was thicker, hopefully enough to block out any voices.

As we entered his room, he basically pushed me to the center, shut his door and locked it, and then turned on me, crossing his arms. "I really hope you don't plan on going by yourself." He obviously understood the concept that if I didn't show up, Becca and Josh were going to die. But also, if I went with another vampire, they would end up dying anyways.

"Of course I do. I have to." I said, my voice weak. Brent shook his head.

"No. I won't allow you to. In fact, I'm going to alert Claude." he turned, and I snapped automatically.

"So _what_? You're just going to tattle on me? Is that it?" I hissed.

Brent pivoted back on me and was in my face within seconds. "No! I'm trying to protect your life! If you go out there, he's going to _kill_ you."

"And if I don't, he's going to kill _two innocent _lives!" I retorted. Brent shoved his hands through his hair with a heavy sigh. He stared at me for the longest time, and I stared straight back, unblinking.

"I can't let you do this." he finally muttered. My heart dropped.

"Brent," I grabbed his sleeve as he turned away, "_please_. I'm begging you. If you don't help me, then I'll turn to Rylan for help, I swear it!"

Brent avoided my pleading face and looked down at my hand attached to his sleeve. "Rylan wouldn't help you."

"Yes, he would. Remember, he helped me escape before?"

"You weren't doing anything half as stupid as you are now. I'm not letting you go anywhere, even if I have to chain you to my bed and lock my room on you."

I reached out and slapped him hard across the face. His head didn't move, but his eyes widened in shock as they moved to meet my tearful glare. Tears began pouring over my cheeks.

"I care more about Rebecca and Josh than my own life! They've shown me what it's like to be loved! Rebecca is the mother that was never there because she died at birth because of me! Becca kisses my forehead when I feel sick and hugs me all the damn time and to be honest, I love it! Joshua is the caring, careful and loving father I never got to cherish before! He doesn't raise his hand to me, nor does he yell at me! I won't let them _die_!" I practically sobbed incoherently.

But I was sure as Brent was a vampire that he could understand clearly. He stared at me for the longest time as I cried. I backed away from him and sat down on his bed shakily as tears continued to drop like cascading waterfalls. I covered my face, feeling ashamed to actually be crying. I was _crying_. How long had it been since I last cried?

I barely comprehended it when Brent sat next to me and pulled me into his arms. He stroked my hair as I cried against his shoulder, and after several more minutes, my tears finally died down.

"I'll help you, Ava." he muttered into my hair. "I'll let you go see him, but I'm going to put a microphone on you so I can hear everything that's going on. Got it?"

I smiled bitterly through my drying cheeks and eyes and nodded, hugging him even tighter. "Thank you…" I murmured. He sighed so heavily I could feel it through his chest.

"You know, you're kind of like the sister I never had."

I looked up at him in surprise. "_The_ sister you never had?" I asked.

Brent gave a sad smile. "Before we were all turned, Cassy tried having a daughter to break the repetition of boys. It was a stillbirth."

My eyes widened and I sucked in a gasp. "She was born dead?! I'm so sorry." I pulled back, quickly looking away from him to keep myself from feeling terrible all over. Brent chuckled.

"It's all right. It would have been worse had we gotten to know her and _then_ she died. But anyways, this is why I'd rather listen to you say things, other than reading your mind. You speak the truth in your mind, but your emotions come out through your voice."

I looked at him for a long time and smiled faintly. "Thanks. I didn't mean to be such a crybaby."

Brent stood and shook his head. "We don't have time to wait here. Let me tell Claude you're aren't feel well and you'll be going to bed."

"But really, you'll be getting me that microphone and sending me on my way, right?" I asked.

Brent smiled. "Right."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 2_1_**

_Betrayal Through Lies and Beauty  
_

I felt like I was about to throw up.

Okay, so that was disturbing, but what else was I supposed to feel like as I snuck out of my window, wearing all black clothing as Brent distracted the others so they wouldn't hear me jump from the second story, and I was about to go see my nightwalker father who could kill me at any instant?

I landed on my ass on the grass, grimacing in pain and standing back up. The microphone attached to my bra was tiny and no bigger around by diameter than a bottle cap. How Brent had found it, I had no clue.

For vampires who had lived in the past, they sure knew a lot about the future.

In ten minutes, Brent would begin listening in on everything. I went around the back of the yard, where he told me the bikes would be. Driving a car would be too risky for the others to hear me. It was only ten-ish, so I still had plenty of time to meet my father before midnight.

I grabbed the first bike I saw and climbed onto it. It was a bit big for me, but it would be a lot faster than walking fifteen miles to Becca's house. I hoped that considering it was late, that not very many cars would be out.

I concentrated on riding on the road instead of the fact I was about to meet my father. After all, I didn't want to end up vomiting all over him.

When I neared the dead end down the street of my foster home, I slowed down and climbed off the bike, setting it gently against the sidewalk. All the house lights were off, thankfully. I took a deep breath and peered around me, where the streetlamps lit up the cul-de-sac.

"You're an hour early." My father stated from behind me. I spun, looking at the sidewalk where he stood next to my bike. I backed up a couple steps and slowly breathed so not to panic.

"I'm here, so let's hurry and catch up so I can go home." I said, looking him straight in the eye. He frowned and leisurely stepped over the bike and paced around me slowly, looking me over.

"You've grown quite a bit. You see, in the jail cell, I wasn't really quite myself. They locked me up for so long, I thought I was gonna go insane. Now that I'm free, I can do whatever the hell I want. I'm powerful too. You know, I can break someone's limbs without even applying much pressure?"

I shivered. Despite him _slowly_ walking in circles around me like a hawk, his voice sounded like it was _everywhere at once_. It echoed through the houses and trees and night. I really hoped Brent was listening in. It made me feel not so alone.

"Yeah, I know that. I live with vampires, remember?"

He snorted. "Daywalkers aren't vampires. They're pussies. They're so mentally weak it's ridiculous. They can't hurt a human being without feeling terrible about it."

"Maybe humans, but they sure don't give a shit about hurting you freaks." I snapped, turning to glare at him.

He stopped pacing and smiled sadly at me. The emotion looked so fake with his malevolent face. Without warning, he reached out and ran a calloused hand down my cheek. I flinched, but remained still so he wouldn't freak out on me. The last thing I wanted to do was anger him. "You're on the wrong side, Avanni."

I didn't even blink as I told him what I really thought. "No, dad. _You're_ on the wrong side. Your kind kills without remorse. None of you have a heart. You don't care about the consequences of _anything_. Daywalkers, the ones that I know, despite having bipolar issues, know how to care. They think before they act. They also don't kill humans for the fun and game of it." I couldn't believe my reasoning was so bold.

My father's hand tightened against my cheek, causing my to bite my tongue to keep from crying out. There was definitely going to be a bruise there later. "No. You don't know what daywalkers are like, Ava. They _are_ ruthless. They play with peoples minds and hide things that should be spoken beforehand. They lie, they cheat and they get away with it. You're just blind."

I blinked at him. I couldn't tell if he was speaking the truth or not. Alec _had_ played with Elly's mind before. Rylan messed with mine. But…they always told me the truth. Brent would never lie to me. I yanked back from my father and glared at him.

"No, you're blinded by the hate welled up inside of you from being a nightwalker. You've made the wrong choice. You'll never be able to see the sunlight again. Forever will you rot in darkness. You could have changed for the better, but now you're a monster. Quit trying to say shit about the daywalkers just to make yourself feel better!" I hissed loudly, my voice echoing through the area.

My father stopped in his tracks and stared at me for a long time. Within seconds, a look of grief and sadness passed his features. He grabbed both my wrists with lightning speed and held them in iron-like grasps. I gasped out in pain and tried to pull away. He kept me there in that place as he spoke.

"Join us and be with your true family."

I stopped struggling and stared at him in bewilderment. "My…true family?" Who was my true family? So many people passed through my mind at once. Who had I come here for, really? My father, or Becca and Joshua? What would happen if I became a nightwalker? Would I kill without fear? I let out a snort. "I'm not going to become a hateful thing like you."

My father let out a snarl. "Would you like to know what they lied about? Are you too idiotic to realize it, or are you too blinded by their beauty? They told you they couldn't change you, right? Then how the hell did Cassidy end up a vampire? Alec changed Claude, they changed them all! They lied about being able to change you! How could you not have realized it when they spoke it? Did you just assume it was because they were family and it had something to do with genetics? Because it doesn't! They were going to allow you to die after Rylan bit you because they didn't want another daywalker in the family!"

A lump caught in my throat. How could I have not realized that? Had I basically been brainwashed like Elly had, without even knowing it? It had to...no... it _was _true. The whole Darquecaster family had been converted. They _had_ lied to me. But…how did my father know about all of this? As I opened my mouth to weakly ask that thought, my father blinked and then added,

"Would you like to know what else they lied about?"

I slowly shook my head, weakly. I didn't want to know anymore. The family I thought was different wasn't.

My father released me and stepped back. "They're here."

I stumbled back when his hands let go, and I looked around in astonishment. Sure enough, six figures stepped out of the shadows and into the streetlamp light. No…_ NO! _This wasn't supposed to happen! Brent was supposed to keep the peace! I couldn't believe any of it. This had to be a bad dream… My eyes landed on Claude.

He shook his head apologetically at me and met my eyes. "I am so sorry, Ava. We have to kill all nightwalkers, even if it means sacrificing a few humans, here and there."

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked back to my father, only to see him raise a hand. "I didn't come alone. Jakobi!" He called. Out of nowhere, a dark figure leapt past us and towards Becca's house. I spun with a shout that I didn't even comprehend.

Claude pointed after him. "Somebody kill him! Try to save the Maddox's for Ava."

_Try to save the Maddox's for Ava._ Try? I watched in disbelief as Lukas, Cassy and Rylan split and followed after Jakobi. They wouldn't care about them. They just wanted the nightwalker dead, no matter who was killed in the process.

Oh my God.

I fell back onto the sidewalk behind me, and stared as my father silently attacked Claude. The nightwalker was strong. It took both Claude and Alec to finally bring him down to the ground. And even yet, he still struggled. Blood flew in the air, and by then, I wasn't even comprehending anything else except the fact that everything I had worked for and befriended was dying away. Not physically, but socially and mentally.

I heard a strained cry of pain and it ended with a gurgle. I blinked several times and realized I was crying. I watched as Brent stabbed a hand through my father's stomach and yanked it up through his head, splitting him in half much as how they had done in the past that had been in my dream. It was terrible watching them do such a thing.

Everything went silent, and I didn't even move as Claude approached me, blood splattered over his body. He kneeled down in front of my motionless self and wiped a lock of hair from my sweating, teary face. He looked troubled, but I was too busy feeling sick and confused. My father had just been brutally murdered.

"Ava?" Claude asked unsurely.

"She's in shock. Her mind is just a jumble of images and words that barely I can understand." Brent said softly behind him. I managed to look past Claude at the younger vampire. His was covered in guts and blood, I was sure.

"Jakobi got away, I'm so sorry!" Cassy's voice said out of no where. "The Maddox's are safe and asleep, as well."

I looked back at her, my body feeling like a bag of potatoes. Rylan and Lukas looked at me with pity in their eyes, but Cassy completely ignored me and stared at Claude behind me.

"That's fine. We'll just have to find him soon, before he goes on a killing rampage." Claude touched my shoulder, and as an instant reaction, I screamed and jumped up.

"Don't touch me!" I cried out, tears still flowing down my cheeks. All the vampires looked at me in shock.

Claude tried to remain calm, and gingerly reached out to me. "Shh, you'll wake up everyone around here. We aren't as bad as that nightwalker said we are, you have to believe us."

"T-_that_ nightwalker? That nightwalker was my _father_!" I yelled, not caring who the hell I woke up. I shoved Claude away from me, surprised when he actually stepped back. "I hate you all! I can't believe you! You'd let me die, you didn't even care if Becca and Josh died! So much for loving Rebecca, you asshole!"

Claude looked hurt. His eyes went behind me, probably to Cassy, and then quickly averted to look down at the ground. Bullseye.

I turned to Brent. "And what about you? You fucking liar! You're the worst, by far! Acting like my friend and rubbing it in my face that I reminded you of the sister you never could have! You're such a fake."

Without hesitating to see his expression, I spun on Alec, ignoring Cassy's shocked expression.

"I hated the fact you played with my best friends mind! You ruined her! Not to mention you probably stole her virginity! She was saving that for someone she _loved_!"

I was definitely on a role. All these jumbled words in my mind began to make sense and it was flowing out of my mouth on impulse…but I meant every word of it. I felt gross and sick and confused and hurt and angry all at the same time.

I looked at Cassidy. "You do realize that the man you love is in love with someone else, right? You're a selfish, uncaring bitch. Your _perfect_ family that you were talking about, remember that? Just to let you know, it isn't so perfect as you once thought."

I didn't have much more to say. I merely sent a disappointed look to Lukas and Rylan, and the both looked away. I turned slowly back to Claude.

"I want my normal life back. I want you to leave this place and go back to wherever you came from. Take the stupid nightwalker Jakobi with you as well! Take everything back with you that you brought here! _I want to be normal again_!" I finished off with a sob.

Claude watched me for a long time as I cried, wiping furiously at my tears as well. I cried way too much around them. I hated it. I hated them. He lowered his voice compared to mine, and said softly, "We will leave. However, the only thing we can't take back are the memories. I apologize, Ava Maddox." he stepped forward and kissed my forehead, much like a father would do if he were leaving for a long time.

I was too tired to push him away as he hugged me quickly. I heard the bike being picked up. As Claude turned away with the others, he said, "We will bring your clothes and items back to Becca and Joshua tonight before we leave. I'm so sorry for bringing this onto you, but please understand that we _do_ care."

Those were the last words he spoke as the left, leaving me on the sidewalk.

It began raining then, a cold, bitter rain.

Before I could stop it, I leaned over and threw up whatever was in my stomach. I didn't stop until I was dry-heaving. Black spots danced before my eyes. I couldn't believe this had all just happened. I had grown too attached to the Darquecaster's without even realizing it. I had only known them for a couple of months, too.

The black spots multiplied and shrouded my vision. The rain was freezing cold. Why was everything suddenly getting so dark?

* * *

A/N: I was sure most of you realized the Darquecaster's had lied about the changing issue. Of course, Ava, without her knowing anything, was blinded by the vampires' trickeries and beauty much like Elly had been. Sorry this chapter was so emotional. Stay tuned for the next!


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

_Moving on is the Hardest Part_

By the time the light met my eyes, I felt empty; void of any emotions that had once kept me going. My chest ached with a throb, and my stomach was queasy. My head was airy and I completely forgot what I had been doing before I woke up.

"Ava?" Rebecca's voice asked hesitantly from my bedside. I glanced over at her and inhaled a big breath of fresh air. I felt like I had been asleep for ages. She was leaning over my mattress, hands holding tightly onto mine. Her face was filled with worry and relief. "Honey, how are you feeling?"

I blinked and slowly pushed myself up to a sitting position. For a short second, the world tilted in my vision, but then it was over. I yawned and stretched, several joints popping in the process. My body felt exhausted. "I feel fine." I said. Well, it was only half the truth.

Becca let out a relieved sigh. "I'll go tell Joshua and then bring you something to eat." She stood up and sent me a smile before leaving me alone. A light breeze blew through my window. I looked over at it. It was nearing dusk.

What had happened?

Seconds later in the silence, Joshua knocked on my partially open door. He had a giant smile on his tired-looking face. "Hey there, kiddo." he greeted, walking in and sitting next to me. I smiled in response, but it didn't reach my heart. He wrapped me into a hug that made me feel somewhat better.

"What day is it?" I asked.

Joshua glanced at his cell phone and read off, "It's Thursday. If you feel up to it, you can go to school tomorrow."

"How long was I asleep?"

"A day. We found you yesterday morning at dawn unconscious. You were at the end of the cul-de-sac."

Something sparked in my mind. "Unconscious…?"

Joshua frowned a bit. "The doctor said you might have a bit of amnesia from trauma." He reached forward and gently patted my shoulder. "You don't have to try to remember what happened. The Darquecaster's explained to us the whole story."

The spark of remembrance in my mind lit up like a lightning bolt. All at once, everything began hurting. I cried out and jolted forward, burying my face into my pillow. My head ached and my stomach burned with unknown reason. The throb in my chest multiplied, making me feel lost and alone.

Brent, Rylan, Claude, Lukas, and even Alec and Cassidy…they were all gone.

"No…" I muttered, forcing myself to stand up. They couldn't be. They wouldn't have left me. Joshua didn't try to stop me, even has I fell against my door to hold myself up as my legs nearly gave out underneath me. Of course he wouldn't help me.

I'd always been independent.

So then, what the fuck was I doing? Chasing after a few bastards who had changed my life for the worst?

"They brought your clothes back. Becca put them away for you." Joshua said softly from his place on my bed.

The Darquecaster's had killed my father.

But then why did I feel no remorse towards it?

I looked over my shoulder at Joshua, who had a pained look on his face. Joshua was my father. Rebecca was my mother. Why was I so fraught with agony? I pulled away from the door.

This was what I wanted. I wanted the vampires all gone and banished from my city. If they were gone, I had a better chance of living my life again. No more cleaning. No more mind games.

No more lies. I was Avanni Maddox, no longer the rebel, but the new and improved conformist.

But first thing was first. I turned fully to Joshua. "There's someone I need to see before I go back to school."

Joshua raised his eyebrows. "But…the Darquecaster's alre-"

"No," I interrupted. "not them. Someone who can help my mind calm down a bit."

* * *

Rory looked surprised to see me walk into her office. I didn't understand why, after all, I actually knocked on the door. Immediately she stood up, eyes wide.

"Ava? What are you doing here?" she demanded.

I took a deep breath to bite back my attitude. Instead, I clasped my hands together in front of me and asked in a shaky voice, "I need you to help me with my visions. I want to avoid ending up in any nightwalker's hands. I want to be able to protect myself without the…t-the… _daywalkers_ around." I almost choked on the lump in my throat when I thought of the surname _Darquecaster's_.

Rory relaxed and smiled. "Oh, okay. You startled me. I thought you would say something about the -_them_." she quickly corrected herself. Finally she nodded. "Yes, I can teach you how to use your powers effectively."

That was all I needed for hope and protection.

"Just remember," I added, "I won't trust you and I never will. I'll not make the same mistake again."

* * *

"What? They left? No fucking way!" Elly screamed at me from across the table. It was currently lunch time, but it felt like a prison room. Being interrogated by your best friend didn't exactly make you optimistic.

I forked my salad around in boredom and tried to ignore her. Max sat uncomfortably beside me. He leaned over to whisper,

"Why'd they leave?"

_It was all my fault_, I wanted to say honestly, but instead, the words that came out of my mouth were, "I don't know why."

"I can't believe Alec would leave me! Aren't either of you the least bit upset?" Elly cried out, tears going down her cheeks. Tiffany sat silently beside us, face expressionless as she stared, reading her milk carton.

I was sure she was just as upset as Elly, but was more introverted than her. I glanced around us and nearly groaned in distaste. There were beyond several people watching in disgust at Elly's reaction.

"Elly, would you know it off?" I hissed at her. She stopped moving and glared at me.

"You should be crying too! But you're not! Aren't you upset that Lukas ditched you too?"

I paused a moment, searching deep inside of me. Was I upset that any of them left? After all, the only ones I would miss were probably Claude, Brent and Lukas. Although they each managed to screw me over in some way.

I shook my head. "No, I'm actually kind of relieved that they're gone now."

Wrong choice of words.

"It was you! Wasn't it? You told them to leave because they wouldn't leave Max alone! I knew it! Well fine. You can ruin Max's life, because you already did a number to mine." And with that, she threw her tray in the nearby garbage can, grabbed her bag and left.

I stared after her in shock, and had a brief moment of wonder why she'd been so attached to Alec. I'd make a note to ask Rory later.

"Drama, drama, drama." Tiffany muttered beside Max. We looked over at her. She smiled indifferently to me and shrugged her shoulders. "Actually, I'm glad Brent left without saying goodbye."

My eyes widened a bit. Who would appreciate that? "Why do you say such a thing?" Max asked, as if reading my mind. Tiffany looked down at her pure golden bracelet, that I noticed hadn't been there before. Brent must have given it to her.

"Because it would have been harder letting him go."

I watched her for a long time. Was that how it was for someone in love? Elly only had an obsession. But Tiffany… I looked away and felt sick.

I was so selfish. I had told them all to leave, when there were people here who would miss them. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I stood up and grabbed my bags. "I think I'll head to class early."

Max stood up quickly. "I'll walk you there."

"No, I need to stop by the bathroom first."

With one last look at Max's disappointed face, I turned and exited the way Elly had gone. I needed to apologize to her, after all. She was my best friend and I couldn't lose her like this. Not over a stupid guy. Not over a stupid vampire.

Where I found her, however, caused me to stop in my tracks. Elly was talking to Sienna Murphy. My heart dropped and clattered into a bazillion pieces. They laughed about something, and I stepped back. My best friend had just betrayed me. But hell, hadn't I done the same to her?

I turned without glancing back at all, and walked to my next class.

* * *

"Relax, and focus on a target in the room." Rory told me from standing behind me. I was sitting cross legged in the center of her office, which had been cleared out from chairs and the coffee table. The window was open, and sitting on the windowsill was an orange blossom incense.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on smelling the incense. As if it were magic, the scent wafted through my mind and made all my negative, depressing and angry thoughts disappear.

The world around me seemed to float away and vanish.

_Lukas looked clueless for a moment. Then he remembered. "Oh, really? Well I take back the insult. Your body was nice." he smiled toothily at the end._

_I glared at him. "That just makes it worse." _

_He sighed and pushed me by the hip with a gentle nudge. But with me, it shoved me halfway across the counter. "Oops, sorry." he apologized. I stared at him, my hip kind of sore now._

"_Control your strength!" I ordered, handing him the soapy washcloth. He smiled at me again and started washing the dishes. I helped rinse them._

"_So…" he started a conversation. "what is it like living with vampires?"_

"_Drastic and scary. I'm afraid that every night you're going to enter my room, rape me, and then drink my blood." I lied, keeping my face serious. Lukas's head snapped toward me and he looked perturbed. _

"_I would never!" _

_I grinned. He frowned. "Juuuust kidding!" I laughed in a sing-song voice. He smirked and flung a handful of soapy, warm water at me. I gasped dramatically. "Oh! It's on!" I threatened, and ripped the rag out of his hand. He jumped back just before I snapped it at him, missing by a couple of centimeters._

_Soap and water flung across the floor. Lukas did what looked a ballerina spin to dodge another snap from the rag. _

"_Hold still!" I shouted, while laughing. Lukas grinned and reached forward just before I threw the rag at his face. He grabbed my wrist to keep me from hitting him with it. I grabbed the rag with my other hand and he made a grab for that one too. _

Lukas had showed me what it was like to be yearned for. The memory with him faded into white nothingness, and I began to see one after another, different memories with the people who I wanted to forget about.

_Along the walls were large, painted pictures of random scenes and landscapes. They were…breathtaking. I stepped into the room and approached the first painting on the wall. Scribbled neatly on the bottom of the picture was,_

_London, England, 1799. _

_Rylan Darquecaster._

_Once more, my awe intensified. Rylan drew this? No, he drew all of these. I looked carefully at the picture. There was a cobblestone road beginning at the bottom of the portrait and leading upwards towards a horizon. A horse and carriage was strolling along the road, past walking citizens wearing lovely Victorian dresses._

_I hesitantly put my hand up and traced the road softly. It was an old painting. I smiled serenely and moved to the next one, and the next. Each was better than the last. I moved to the other side of the bed and almost tripped over a face down picture. "Oops…" I muttered, stepping over it. I leaned down and pulled it up. Setting it carefully on the bed, I turned it over and…_

_My jaw dropped once more. I immediately let go of it and stared at it in shock. Rylan had drawn picture of me. It was perfect. He had caught every single feature of me, including the slight dimple in my smile. My own hazel eyes stared back at me, caught with the perfect mixture of color of green, brown and blue. _

_My naturally flyaway, frizzy red-brown hair and been turned wavy and toppled over my shoulders in the picture. He had made me beautiful. My hand was bent barely at the wrist, nearly covering my mouth as I laughed. _

_How and when had he drawn this of me? I never smiled or laughed so freely like this before. I touched Rylan's signature at the bottom of the portrait with a smile on my face. That was when the familiar creaking of the door being pushed open again made me gasp and jump in shock._

_Rylan was staring at me from the doorframe. I blushed scarlet and moved quickly toward the door to leave past him. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to enter -I mean, I thought it was just another room… I-I'll be leaving now!" As I nearly ran past Rylan, his hand caught me by the forearm and I was pulled back. _

"_Stay." he said melodiously. "Allow me to draw you once more."_

Rylan had made me look beautiful, and even made me look at myself in a different way.

_"How long was I asleep?" I managed to ask in a shaky voice. I didn't really feel dizzy, just disgusted with having to continuously drink vamp blood, even though it tasted heavenly. In my state of nervousness, I began asking more questions, "How does the doctor know about vampires? Were you serious about being on Cassy's side? Because if so, I won't be able to feel safe with you, you know that? Not that I could in the beginning but-"_

_"Shut up." Alec shoved his wrist to my mouth and I had no choice but to taste his blood as it crept into my already open mouth. I groaned in irritation, but when the strangely flavored-unflavored blood touched the tip of my tongue, my irritation dissipated. Was it just me, or did Alec's blood taste even sweeter than Rylan's?_

_I unintentionally leaned against Alec as my hands went up to grasp his arm tightly to keep it there so I could drink his life force. I barely comprehend the fact through my hazy mind that Alec wrapped his other arm around me and buried his face into my hair._

Besides Alec being a total jerk all the time, he'd proven his fact that he cared about me. He didn't have to do what he did, but he did anyways.

_I watched as an unnamed expression crossed Alec's' features, but it quickly disappeared and Alec retorted, "Take it up with him then. I'm sure he doesn't want you raping the house maid." Then Alec turned to me. "By the way, you have to make up for all of the things you haven't cleaned, starting today."_

_My eyes widened. "What?"_

_Brent sighed. "Would you all just shut up and leave her alone?" he asked, irritated._

_I smiled my thanks to him._

After I'd been so cruel to him, I could only imagine how selfish I must have been as well. Brent had been the sweetest to me, and cheered me up often. He'd stuck up for me as well a few times, and I'd shunned him like the rest of the daywalkers.

_Claude watched me for a long time as I cried, wiping furiously at my tears as well. I cried way too much around them. I hated it. I hated them. He lowered his voice compared to mine, and said softly, "We will leave. However, the only thing we can't take back are the memories. I apologize, Ava Maddox." he stepped forward and kissed my forehead, much like a father would do if he were leaving for a long time._

_I was too tired to push him away as he hugged me quickly. _

My eyes snapped open and I choked on the air. Rory was beside me in less than a second, touching my cheek and checking my vitals. I breathed in quickly, catching my breath and staring wide-eyed at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice panicked.

I smiled weakly. "I-I guess the memories became too much."

She looked at me confused. "That's weird, usually when you clear your mind, memories don't come forth, they dissipate. Looks like we still have more practice, but for another day." She grabbed a mug full of steaming liquid and handed it to me. "Drink up, you know exactly what it is."

I peered down into the cup full of vampire blood, and wondered just whose it was.

As I drank from the mug, I hoped that this would all force me to move on and help with my visions.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

_A Short Time Until _They _Return_

"So, you want to know the story behind the vampire's charm, eh?" Rory asked me casually, sitting down in her chair. I remained sitting on the floor, staring into my empty mug.

"Yeah. Elly's completely shirked me. I'm not upset over it. Max isn't upset over it. Not even Brent's girlfriend-err, ex-girlfriend is like that." I muttered.

Rory turned in her seat a bit and sighed. "Vampires are beautiful creatures, and I don't mean to gloat. There are those who almost always become blinded, and those who are powerful enough to resist it."

Her last few words made me look up at her in surprise.

_"But you need to be strong."_

_I nearly slapped him. Instead, my fingers twitched. I gripped tightly onto the leather seats. "I am strong!"_

_"No, you are not."_

_I huffed and turned away. "I could break your stupid window with a single punch." I bragged. As proof, I tapped it with my knuckles, sending a smirk over to Alec. He glared at me._

_"Break my window and I break your arm." he threatened. "And besides, I don't mean physical strength, idiot."_

"Mental strength." I gasped. Rory smiled and nodded.

"Exactly so. I don't mean to bash, but it would appear that both you and Ellyria were blinded. You were stronger, however, and didn't become obsessed. Max and Tiffany, as you applied, have gotten over it."

"So that means…" I trailed off.

"It doesn't mean anything, dear. If you're weak, you can become stronger. And this here will strengthen your visions _and_ make you willful. It'll take a long while, but once you get the hang of it, you're capable of doing anything with your visions." Rory explained.

I wasn't going to disappoint.

* * *

_**EIGHT MONTHS LATER**_

So this is how it had been for the past eight months.

Elly and I split up as besties, and Tiffany took her place. It was nice being friends with someone who didn't talk about vampires; who had no clue they even existed. Meanwhile, Max and I had been dating. We started going out at the beginning of summer.

It was a whole new situation for me. We hadn't kissed, nor had we even spoken those three special words to each other. We had, however, held hands and hugged for long periods of time.

I suppose things between Max and Elly hadn't been going well at home either. Elly had been bringing Sienna over to their house often, and they made fun of Max for dating a _lowlife_; AKA, me. It was all irony, if you thought of it that way.

Now here I was, into the first trimester of my senior year in school, sitting between Max and Tiffany as they spoke across from me during lunch. I was fully aware they liked each other, but Max insisted on being with me. Suddenly, as I glanced around the cafeteria, I had a swift sense of déjà vu.

In exactly thirty-two seconds, Elly and Sienna were going to walk in and pick a fight with me today.

I had seen it in my dream the night before.

With a sigh, I stood up and threw my tray away, and at the same moment, the cafeteria doors slammed open, and in walked Sienna and Elly, arm in arm, straight towards me. Each had a pleasant (and by pleasant I mean snide) smirk on their face.

Tiffany saw them coming and stood up slowly. Max remained seated, unbothered by this fact. He knew I'd been drinking vampire blood every other day these past eight months. If I wanted to fight a measly human, I could, and he was aware of that.

"Great afternoon, isn't it?" Sienna asked me, her nose crinkled a bit.

"It was." I said, leaning back against our table.

Elly remained quiet, but I kept my eyes on her the whole time. I noticed today was different. Usually when they confronted me, she was smirking at me the whole time. Maybe she'd seen the difference in my attitude; or better yet, she knew I was drinking vampire blood. Hmm, I wonder if Max had mentioned anything.

Sienna snorted. "So I hear you're quite the bitch nowadays. You strut around like you're something new. Well, just so we're clear, nobody likes you."

Tiffany chuckled beside me, and Max finally began paying attention. "Actually, hun, you're wrong. I love Ava. We're besties." Tiffany put an arm around my shoulders. I looked away from Elly to Sienna. Now I could feel Ellyria's surprised gaze on me.

Sienna glared daggers at Tiffany. "I wasn't talking to you, whore."

Before anybody could say anything, I stepped up to Sienna, controlling only a proportion of my anger. Elly stepped back, which was wise, but the blonde bitch continued to give me that scrutinizing stare.

"I suggest you think about what you say before you speak. Your insults are the oldest in a book. Come back to us when you can make me falter."

And with that, I spun on my heel and, with Max and Tiffany hot on my heels, left the cafeteria. I wasn't going to stay behind to hear Becca give me a lecture.

Oh, speaking about the school, after Claude had resigned, the position had gone to some other man in line for the job. It was only half a month into this new school year, and unfortunately, my eighteenth birthday was October 25th, exactly thirty-nine days from now. When Max's birthday had passed by in February, we threw him a birthday party. When Elly's eighteenth birthday went by in April, her family threw her a party, but I didn't attend.

Sienna did instead.

* * *

After school, I was driving Max home. He sat in the passengers, texting on his phone. "You know, I can't believe Elly didn't say anything today." he commented, slipping his phone in his pocket to look at me. I glanced at him and smiled.

"I know. Me either. I really think I'm becoming more intimidating."

"Rawr." Max made a clawing motion at me, which made me laugh. I pulled into his driveway. Elly's car was already parked. I swallowed a lump in my throat. I felt like I had lost something.

Not my humanity, but my best friend. Was she never going to come back to me, just because of… Alec?

Max suddenly reached over and hugged me, surprising me. I embraced him back for a long moment, and then he kissed me on the cheek before pulling back. I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, smirking. I smiled and nodded. Before he climbed out, he paused and looked at me for a long time. "I know you haven't broken any rules for a hell of a long time, but there's a party for the new school year tonight at eleven. Juniors and seniors only. Just throwing that out there. You know where it is if you want to go."

And with that, he winked and left my car. I stared after him, my hands gripping the wheel almost painfully. It was true; I'd managed to remain a conformist for almost the whole eight months.

Joshua was proud of me the most, since his policemen no longer complained about me. After all, if it hadn't been for Joshua, I'd have been arrested long ago. And now at school, since I wasn't getting in trouble, Becca didn't need to worry about suspension papers.

I felt new.

I didn't have my father to worry about, the Darquecaster's to worry about, nor did I need to fear the nightwalker's anymore. Everything was peaceful for me. I loved it. And maybe one day, Max and I would learn to love each other.

But was that going to stop me from having a little bit of fun for one night?

* * *

I stared at myself in my mirror. My hair was curled to perfection and the eyes staring back at me were rimmed with black eyeliner that twirled at the outer lids of my eyes. The outfit I had chosen for the party consisted of a pair of black, opaque leggings and a green and black tunic with short sleeves to keep cool in the warm summer night air.

I slipped on my black sneakers and grabbed my gothic looking purse. Then, softly opening my door, I crept past the living room toward the kitchen hall. Nobody was awake now, since they had work first thing in the morning.

As I moved past the kitchen, I paused and looked at the fridge. Sitting in there was an emergency bottle of vampire blood. With a quickly-made decision, I hurried into the kitchen and opened the fridge to grab it. Then, glancing behind me, I slipped the bottle into my purse. You could never be so sure what could happen close to midnight.

And with that, I left the house, silently locking the door behind me. My baby car, still good as new after so many years, sat in the driveway waiting for me. I sucked in a large breath and slowly slid into the drivers seat. It had been so long since I had gone to a party with alcohol and drugs.

As I started the car, I reminisced that the last time I had been at a party, I'd been attacked and bitten by Jakobi, the nightwalker. Since then, the scar had faded to nothingness, but when I thought about him, that area tingled unpleasantly. I shook my head once and drove out of the driveway, hoping I didn't wake up Joshua and Becca.

The nighttime moon showered overhead, enforcing the dim street lights. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the faint smoke rising and billowing in the air ahead of me in the forest beside the old apartment complex. The bonfire was alight already.

I pulled up to a vacant sidewalk and climbed out of my car, hooking my purse over my shoulder and flipping my hair over my shoulders.

"Ava!" Max's voice laughed in a hushed noise. I squinted into the darkened forest and he smiled and waved. He was with two other people.

I wondered if he remembered his friend had been killed here before.

Speaking about his friend, the police, AKA, Joshua, managed to hide it as a murder from the public, and insisted that it had just been a wild animal attack. Convincing enough, eh?

I smiled in response and walked up to the three boys. Max, Jonathon and Zachary, some of Max's best friends. Max slung an arm around my waist and I already smelled the beer on his breath. Shockingly, it disgusted me. I turned away from him as we walked toward the bonfire, where I could already hear people laughing and talking. With my heightened senses, I could even hear the crackling of the fire and the soft clanking of glasses and cups.

While we walked toward the clearing and the boys talked to one another, I kept sending nervous glances around. I had had no visions of this day, but that was perhaps I had changed my mind about it the last instant. After all, I'd made a vow to remain a good girl.

I heard a distant squeal, and my head shot forward. Past the fire, Elly was chatting rapidly with Sienna and one of the jocks, whose name I couldn't remember because I obviously didn't care.

"Why is your sister here?" I asked Max through gritted teeth as we finally made it to the bonfire. Max paled.

"She -uh, insisted on coming. She said she wouldn't let me go if she couldn't." He avoided my sight. I studied him, but he seemed to be learning how to lie a lot easier; either that or he wasn't lying and I was just assuming idiotically.

"Yeah, c'mon, have a drink and lighten up, Maddox!" Jonathon said, grinning and handing me a beer. I stared at it for a moment. Was I being stupid? My brain ticked furiously.

I shook my head and pushed his hand away. "No thanks, I'll remain sober. Will there be any music?" Dancing was safe; dancing was fun.

Zachary seemed to remember something and nodded. "Yes! Music! Right!" He disappeared into the crowd of growing students. Minutes later, some random techno song came on.

Max set down his beer and pulled me into the crowd as everyone started dancing.

Pretty soon, I was lost to the beat and Max's hands around my waist as we dirty-danced.

Every once comprehendible fact seemed to dissipate and I grew happier than I had been. I thought I'd been just fine, but being here, with everyone, excited me. I glanced over my shoulder at Max, and he smiled down at me.

Our lips were inches apart, and his hands were splayed across my stomach and hip as I pressed back against him. The smell of the alcohol coming from him made me dizzy and smile sheepishly back at him. He leaned down at the moment and kissed the side of my mouth, very slowly. His skin was burning hot against mine and my eyes fluttered closed.

He pulled back long enough to turn me in his arms and pull me against him softly as his lips met mine hesitantly. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed back… well, until my name was shouted over the music.

I spun and saw Elly pushing her way through the crowd, her face frantic and shocked at the same time. My heart started beating fast. Was she coming back to me, for help? To become my best friend again? Then I flushed, realizing I'd just been kissing her brother. Oh gosh, mine and Max's first kiss.

Elly grabbed my wrist, and I managed a glare at her. "What do you want?" I hissed over the beat of the bass.

"I need to talk to you! It's important!" she hissed back, yanking me after her. I glanced back at Max, and he was blinking after us in confusion. I felt terrible for leaving him.

Elly and I didn't talk or stop speed-walking until we hit the edge of the forest, around where I had parked. I could barely hear the music even from here.

She let go of me and went to the nearest car, opened the door and pulled out a brown, thick plastic bag. I stared at it as she untied the knot and opened it.

"I-I got this as a package in our mail. It was addressed to me, and at first I didn't think of looking…but then…" Elly pulled out the items inside agonizingly slowly. My eyes widened. They were the same exact items that Alec Darquecaster had bought her nearly a year ago. I watched Elly gulp, and wipe the back of her hand across her forehead. She looked…scared.

I leaned back against the nearest tree and stared at the items as she dropped them onto the ground. He'd even bought her the exact same necklace.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and asked weakly, "What was the return address…?"

Elly dropped the bag onto the sidewalk and looked up at me in silence. "Ava… Ava, _they're_ back."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

_"Home" Is Where The Murder Is_

Before I realized what I was doing, I was racing back to the party to grab my purse. Elly was yelling after me and most likely chasing me as well, but I paid her no heed. I grabbed my purse from its place beside Max's jacket, and ditched the party, narrowly avoiding Max and Elly as they both came toward me.

Why was I so anxious to see the Darquecaster's? I cursed myself again and again as I climbed into my car and started it, taking off without one look back at the party. As I drove, my knuckles turned white from holding onto the wheel so tightly.

My phone started ringing terribly loudly all of a sudden, making me jump in shock. I fumbled with one hand to reach into my purse and yank it out. It was Max. I growled in frustration and flipped it open.

"What?" I demanded, eyeing the dimming street lamps. Funny, the moon suddenly seemed to have disappeared from the sky.

"Where the hell are you going?" He demanded haughtily.

I opened my mouth to reply, my eyes randomly drifting down to glance at my speedometer. Oh shit. Way over 100 MPH. How long had it been since I'd driven this fast? "I-I'm going to-"

"_Avanni Maddox! I never said it was the Darquecaster's! It was the nightwalkers! The return address was the old apartment building!_" Elly's shrill, anxious voice screamed into the phone all of a sudden. Memories flashed through my mind. The old apartment building was right beside the forest holding the bonfire party, including the night when Jakobi had attacked Max and I.

I looked back up at the road in shock. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" I barked angrily, stepping on the brakes to bring my car to a stop. Shouldn't the Darquecaster's have killed Jakobi by now? It had to have been a different nightwalker, but then again, how else would another nightwalker know about Alec buying Elly those things?

"Because you took off before I could explain the rest!" Elly hissed back. "Now get back here bef-"

Her words cut off when I looked into my rear-view mirror. I barely comprehended what she was saying as Jakobi slowly stalked towards my car. He was wearing all black tonight, and his long hair and been chopped short. If he wasn't so dangerous and currently walking toward me, I would have thought he was handsome.

"Ava?" Max's voice interrupted my jumbled thoughts. I snapped out of it and took in a deep breath.

"Max, the time has come." I whispered into the phone. My body was frozen. I couldn't move, I couldn't drive away. He'd catch me. I knew my vision would come true some day.

"What? Ava? What's happening?"

Jakobi stopped by my window and smirked at the tinted window. He tapped the glass. Max must have heard it and remembered instantly what I was getting at.

"No! Avanni Maddox! Drive! Goddammit! Imagine he's a cop and finally you allowed a cop to make it to your window! Do you want the cop to see your face so he can find a way to fire Joshua?" Max's voice had raised to a yell.

His words processed into my brain. With a deep breath, I snapped my phone shut and turned up the music full blast. I was already sweating from fear. Jakobi made to open my door, but I pressed down hard on the gas, imagining Elly right beside me screaming,

"_Go!"_

As I swept past the nightwalker in my car, I felt a sense of relief. I didn't dare look back to see him chasing after me. I had a feeling he would. Now where was I supposed to go? Loop around and go back to the party just to allow him to kill somebody there again? Or go to my house and put my foster parents in danger? My brain ticked impatiently for a place to go.

The Darquecaster's?

But the house was vacant. Nobody would be there to save me. However… it was a huge house and with lots of rooms and corridors. I could break in through a window and hide. It was my best choice right now. I had to face Jakobi on my own. Nobody else was strong enough to defeat him.

Someone was calling me. I could hear my ringtone over my booming music and pounding ears that someone was calling me. I had to ignore it and hope it wasn't Joshua or Becca.

I pressed harder on the gas and changed gears. I had to drive about ten more minutes at the speed I was going. Maybe eight. As I drove, I tried formulating a plan in my head. Maybe I could call Rory when I get into the house?

Minutes later, I zoomed onto the gravel driveway of the Darquecaster house and brought my car to an immediate stop. Without hesitating, I snatched my phone and purse and leapt out of the driver's seat to race up to the house. I grabbed onto the doorknob just to test it and was shocked when it opened right up. It was pure darkness inside, but my vision had multiplied thanks to the vampire blood I'd been drinking.

With a cautious glance behind me, I took a deep breath and went into my old home of…memories. And oh boy, did it ever bring those recollections back. I tried to ignore the tears as they made their way to my eyes and went straight toward the basement room.

Claude had mentioned something about the basement, right? He'd told me not to enter it, but ah hell, it could save my life. I eventually found it beyond the den room, and was surprised to find out I hadn't ever been in this dark hall before.

It was wooden, with chipping bark and metal hinges that reached halfway across the door in spiral designs. The handle was vertical with a latch you pressed down.

"Ava-a-a-a, come out, come out wherever you are." Jakobi's eerie voice sang out. With a jolt of fear, I realized he was just at the entry of the den room. The only object blocking his view of me was the thin wall separating me and the den room.

I grabbed the handle of the basement door and clicked on the latch, and pulled with all my might. It wouldn't budge.

"…_Not to mention sometimes the basement door closes on its own and becomes stuck. There's been something wrong with it since the day we bought this house. Door jam sticking or something like that…" _

My mind must have been excellent at collecting words and images. Claude had told me that my first day here at the Darquecaster mansion. I could hear Jakobi's footsteps mocking me slowly. He knew I was here.

I gritted my teeth and yanked at the door as hard as I could. It slid open with a grunt, and I let out a whoosh of breath.

Standing on the other side of the door at the top of the basement stairs was a woman.

She had long, luscious black hair and piercing green eyes. Her skin was a soft pale, and she had a lip ring on the left side of her bottom red lip.

She was beautiful but frightening, because she was currently blocking my way to safety.

She smirked at me, and I got a chill down my back when Jakobi's presence became well-known behind me.

"Now that we have the Mouse cornered, what do you want to do, Jake?" The woman asked. I could only stare wide eyed at her. She'd been the female in my vision with Jakobi. So this basement was where my murder was going to take place, eh? How much of an idiot could I be? This was all a trap. Jakobi knew I wouldn't place anybody I loved in danger, so my only other option would have been to come here, where there were so many hiding places it was unbelievable.

Nightwalker's were cruel, intelligent beings.

"Hm, I was thinking I could have a bit of fun with her, Renova." Jakobi replied, amusement edging his voice. I gulped the lump of fear in my throat and gripped tightly onto my cell phone and purse that were in my right hand.

Alec's cell number was the first one in my contacts. I'd kept all their numbers as memories to correspond with the ones I'd not managed to rid myself of in my mind. I was sure their numbers had changed by now, but what could it hurt?

Slowly but surely through memory, I clicked my contact button silently without looking away from Renova.

"I don't mind. But I'd like to get out of here soon, so kill her and change her already." Renova replied, glancing behind me to glare at Jakobi. I took that moment to press, hopefully, the right button as "call" to the first contact on my list. I hoped with a thousand fingers crossed that I had pressed all the correct buttons and my phone was currently calling Alec.

And I hoped to God that he would answer. Then I'd just have to pray that he was close by, and not in New Jersey.

It was funny how much you could hope and pray in such a time like this.

And then suddenly Jakobi grabbed me roughly by my left arm and yanked me past Renova, who moved swiftly out of the way. With a gasp, I managed to stumble over my own feet after him down the steep stairs. The lights flickered on when we got down there, and I glanced behind me to see Renova at the light switches.

When my eyes adjusted to the sudden light, I succeeded in a good look around the basement…that didn't even look like a basement.

It looked like a dungeon, and a really fucking familiar one too.

Jakobi stopped for a moment and stared toward the same direction that I was now. I was sure both our expressions were surprised, because the shackles hanging from the wall were the same ones that had once held Jakobi's brother as he was murdered brutally.

* * *

A/N: I would like to thank all my reviewers up to this point, because you are all amazing and awesome and I love you all. Your awesome comments help me continue my stories, so millions of thanks to each of you!


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 **

_To Be or Not To Be…_

Who in their right mind would have thought the Darquecaster's had killed a nightwalker in this house? Much less Jakobi's brother? But then…if Jakobi was really after revenge… why had he come for me?

"I can't believe this place holds so many memories." Jakobi muttered under his breath. I couldn't help but agree with him. Renova appeared beside me, and it was all I could do to not flinch.

"So you've been here before?" She asked curiously. Jakobi smirked.

"Of course I have. When the daywalkers were gone for all those years, I did some sniffing around. Last time I came here was a while ago… maybe five years."

I stared at him in shock. I'd been lucky then to avoid him. That was when I had lived with my dad. Suddenly Jakobi snapped his head to scrutinize me and I quickly looked away at the ground.

"So, Ava, would you like to be chained up and tortured like my brother had been?" He cooed, touching my cheek. I winced, and slowly shook my head.

Peeking down at the screen of my phone at an angle where I could only see part of it, I saw it was still on call. My heart leapt into my throat. Alec could be listening right now!

I looked back up at Jakobi with narrowed eyes. "What's your point in torturing me? From what I heard, they killed your brother quite quickly. Straight through the chest and up through the head."

Jakobi snarled suddenly, and swung me toward the wall with the chains. I dropped my phone and purse in the midst of being slammed into the wall by him. I heard my phone clatter and then snap, and I resisted not crying. He held me to the wall like he had to the tree almost a year ago. I could see Renova watching us in boredom, and then she began fiddling with her nails.

I needed vampire blood. It was getting close to the time I needed it anyways.

But there was no way I was going to be able to reach it since it was several feet away from me.

My thoughts were interrupted when Jakobi slammed his fangs into the juncture of my throat. I let out a bloodcurdling scream and snapped my eyes shut as the pain of the nightwalker bite seeped through my nerves. My scream was cut off when he pulled back and covered my mouth with his hand. As soon as his fangs left my skin, I opened my eyes, breathing heavily.

I could feel my blood slowly beginning to exit the new wound.

Jakobi was looking at me in shock. "Vampire blood? You have the taste of daywalker platelets in your blood system…" He narrowed his eyes and they gleamed in warning. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You want to know why I'm not fighting back?" I managed to wheeze in pain.

He fisted a hand in my hair and pulled my head back so I met his eyes full on. "No, stupid girl, I want to know why you've been consuming daywalker blood."

"Precisely what I meant. I already knew this was going to happen."

He snarled once more, this one a bit more nasty, since my own blood -err, daywalker _and_ my blood, splattered across my face.

"I'd get to the point, human." Renova muttered behind him.

Jakobi tightened his grip in my hair, causing me to wince. "I have visions!" I managed to cry out. "The blood fortifies them!"

Jakobi released my hair in disbelief, but kept a firm hold of my arm. "My lord, you really are astounding!" he laughed, causing me to stare at him in shock. This guy was insane! He ceased his laughing and wiped a thumb across my face, delicately removing blood from my face. "Maybe I'll make this so you enjoy it. I won't bite as hard, my love."

I gagged a bit and turned away from him. The pain of his bite was wearing off, but the area was warm and wet from my blood. "Screw you. I'd rather the pain."

Nobody made a move, and for a second, I thought he'd strike me across the face for being a bitch, but instead, he turned my face back towards him. His eyes were fiery, but his face was soft. "Do the daywalker bites feel good? I've heard rumors they do."

His words caused me to reminisce in the memories of Rylan's bite. I shut my eyes. "I don't have to reply to you." I said matter-of-factly.

His fingertips dug into my jaw and he growled. "You just refuse to cooperate, don't you?" Before I could answer, he grabbed hold of the neck of my shirt and ripped it down the middle. I could only gasp in bewilderment as he left me wearing only my bra and pants. He put his mouth to my ear and murmured, "I'm going to bite you everywhere on your body until I can find fresh Ava blood and not the disgusting and pathetic daywalker blood. You're going to enjoy every bit of it."

My pain was only beginning. I wondered why my life couldn't have a happy ending. Was it my selfishness that had done me in for good? As Jakobi sank his fangs into my arm, I couldn't help but think, _is this my true punishment_?

* * *

"So now what will you do?"

Renova's voice was a blur to me. I remembered going unconscious after the first three bites. I wasn't sure how much blood I'd already lost, but my body felt so weak. It was cold in the dungeon, but that was probably just because I was now naked and bleeding. I felt no emotion stirring inside of me, other than the fact I just wanted to die and let the pain go.

I couldn't see anything, for my eyelids were too heavy to open. The white light in my mind was slowly vanishing from my sight. I was going to die in darkness and become a nightwalker.

"I'm going to allow her to die, firstly." Jakobi's loathsome voice sounded, bouncing off the walls like an invisible ball of sound. Why couldn't he just let me die altogether? This life was obviously not meant for me.

"And then what? What do you think the Darquecaster's would say, hnn?"

The Darquecaster's? Wasn't it their fault this was happening to me? They've left me here to die…to become an enemy.

"You mean what would they _do_? Though they couldn't achieve much. Not with _her _life at stake and all." I felt his hand move to my chest, and I didn't even move as his claw-like nails scraped over my breasts.

Renova snorted. "You do realize she called them, right?"

Jakobi's hand stilled on the flat of my stomach and I suddenly received the chills. How had she known? Obviously Jakobi wondered the same thing. "How do you know?" he demanded. His hand left my body and I felt the darkness return to me as I could feel no touch now.

Their voices were narrowing low and then loud, as if someone was playing with the volume to a movie. "I watched… the screen was…"

"It doesn't matter… die anyways…one of us."

I could barely understand what they were saying. With each blur of words, I felt sicker. The blackness behind my eyelids was spinning and I felt like a million pins and needles were stabbing into me suddenly. Was this what it felt like to die?

Somebody groaned in agony, and it took me a moment as the voices around me died down to realize the painful sound came out of me.

Hell, what was I doing? Why was I fighting it? Obviously it was too late to pull through. I could give up and just become a damn nightwalker. Maybe I could kill lying daywalker's, too.

I never thought I'd open my eyes again, until a resounding slam echoed through the room. My eyelids fluttered and a distant light came into view. What just happened?

"I never thought I'd actually be saving your ass!" A familiar voice growled.

Saving me?

Huh?

"Open your goddamn eyes and breathe, you stupid fucking moron!"

Someone's hand palmed my face non-too-gently, and I managed a weak inhale of air and to open my eyes just barely. Alec's lovely face came into view, distorted by anger.

As soon as I saw him, every noise around us came rushing back.

I heard hissing and growling and bodies slamming all around me. What the hell was happening? Barely turning my head because of the sharp, lightning-hot jolts of pain going through my body, I could see from the corner of my eyes vampires fighting viciously. It was terrifying.

Utterly terrifying.

Alec grabbed my purse and unzipped it quickly. As I glanced back at him, I began feeling nauseas and dizzy. His light blue eyes, alert and shining, fell on me as he yanked out the daywalker blood.

To my shock, he stared at it momentarily, and then made a face and chucked it across the room. I heart the bottle slam into a wall and splatter amongst the fighting vampires.

"W-what are…you…doing…?" I forced myself to ask. Dear lord, why was it so hard to speak…or to even open my mouth for that matter?

Alec bit into his wrist and pulled it away from his mouth long enough to grab me and hoist me up against his lap and chest. "There's no way you're going to live if I don't do this." he mumbled, and put his bleeding wrist to my mouth.

I latched onto the wound as the scent of his delicious, familiar blood filled my nostrils. How long had it been since I had last tasted _fresh_, warm daywalker blood?

I barely comprehended when he picked up one of my limp arms and put an unbitten part of my flesh to his mouth. My eyes widened when I saw what he was doing, and I pulled my lips away to gasp, "What are you _doing_?"

With a side glimpse at me, he muttered, "Changing you into a daywalker, what else?" And then he bit down.

* * *

A/N: Do not fret, the action isn't over just yet! Sorry for the short-ish chapter, I wanted to get to the action in the next one! Thank you for all the awesome reviews! Any questions, just review and ask them and I'll do my best to answer! =]


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: This chapter may be a bit gorey, so I apologize and warn those of you that don't really like the violence stuff.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

_It's Me or Her!_

Months ago, I had the naïve thoughts that I could overcome anything. I was independent and quick with my words. I did things my way, not the way others wanted me to. But that had all changed when I met Alec. He'd brought upon me this blasphemy, and I was going to accept it with everything I could so that I didn't appear weak.

But _holy hell, goddamn shit_! I never suspected a conversion from human to daywalker would be so…so…_painful!_

Alec didn't release me as I grabbed onto his shirt, bloodying it as I flailed and cried out in agony. It felt like my skin was tightening against my bones, and that my bones were hardening to steal. But I couldn't exactly compare. My five senses burned as if they were being touched with a hot flame.

My mind went blank from all the pain, and the only thing I heard was what sounded like an eerie, obnoxious ringing in my ears. My eyes were watering from the burning.

Something was brushing through my hair, but I could barely comprehend it from the ridiculous amount of _hurt_ I was in.

And then it all stopped.

The burning in my eyes, ears, mouth and nose and skin faded to a dull throb. Tears finished dropping from my eyes, and the noises around me came back once more.

I heard the yelling, and I was wondering how long the conversion had taken.

Someone wiped a finger across my cheek, and I peeled my eyes open to look up into the impatient face of Alec, though deep in his eyes, to my astonishment, I saw worry and concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His voice sounded like a million bucks. Whoa, when had that happened to me? I slowly looked around me dazedly, and realized it was as if my vision had multiplied. When I squinted, everything around me magnified, and it was a shocker.

I saw in shock my daywalkers fighting unfamiliar nightwalkers. Where had Jakobi and Renova gone?

And suddenly all my thoughts shattered when a rancid smell overcame my nose. I gagged and my hands went up to cover my face. "What the hell is that?" I demanded.

"Nightwalker blood." Alec said grimly. He stood up suddenly, leaving me on the cold floor.

Cold floor? I looked down at myself and groaned. This always, _always_ seemed to happen! Was it a curse?

A white, bloodied shirt smacked me in the face then, and I quickly yanked it off my head to look at Alec. He was now shirtless, and holy shit! I couldn't tear my eyes away. He shot me an annoyed look.

"I don't think my family can hold off the oncoming army of nightwalkers, so you want to hurry up and get dressed so we all don't die from your lack of speed?" he snapped. I blinked and a small smile spread on my face. He seemed bewildered.

I stood up, surprised when I felt like I could run a million miles, and quickly pulled on his shirt, buttoning it with my newfound vampire speed… this was amazing. The shirt was loose of course, but covered every part that needed to be covered, and ended at my mid-thighs.

I caught blonde hair out of the corner of my eye, and saw Brent slam a nightwalker's face into the wall with the chains. As if sensing he had eyes on him, he looked back and flashed me a huge smile. I felt more tears well into my eyes, but not from physical pain…from heartbreak.

I can't believe I'd ever accused them of anything horrid.

Alec grabbed my wrist then, and yanked me towards him as he turned on his heel. "Come on! I can smell the other nightwalker's coming. Jakobi and that other chick went to go and fetch them. We all need to escape, and now you can keep up with us."

"W-what? I can?" I stuttered in surprise and nearly tripped over my own feet as he dragged me after him up the basement stairs. Nightwalker's were being slaughtered from all around us, and I caught a glimpse of Claude and Lukas as well.

They were doing awesome.

On the other side of the basement door, light flooded through the house. Furniture was turned violently, and the kitchen table and chairs were broken, including the large window. It appeared the nightwalker's had fled through the house via window.

Alec didn't stop to examine it, and he obviously wasn't going to allow me to hesitate. As we ran through the kitchen and towards the front door, I stepped on small shards of glass, and was astounded that it only caused a dull pinch in the bottom of my feet. The pain wasn't even there.

What other amazing things were I going to find out as being a daywalker?

With a grunt, Alec ripped open the front door, and my breath caught in my throat. At the edge of the driveway, under the dim light of the outdoor house lamp, stood Rylan and Cassidy. Two cars sat patiently next to them, already running, but no headlights on. Of course, if you were a vampire, your vision in the dark increased.

"Hurry up!" Cassy hissed, opening the back door to Alec's car. Alec non-too-gently shoved me into the backseat, but I realized something. As Alec shut the door after me, he gave me one look, and turned his back to the window as the nightwalker's that Jakobi had summoned came bursting forth from the forest around the Darquecaster mansion.

They were going to risk their fucking lives to save me.

I rolled down the window as fast as I could. "Alec! Get the hell in the car! There is no way any of you are-"

"Shut the hell up! This isn't just for you! If we don't kill them, then they'll get loose in the city and kill all the humans!" Cassy barked at me, and then suddenly the cars and the house were surrounded by dark figures.

How many people had Jakobi taken the time to change? The Darquecaster's were outnumbered by far. Alec shot me a glare over his shoulder. "Roll up the window! You need as much protection as you can get! And don't even think about getting out to try fighting! You're a newborn and don't have any control over your power!" he hissed, and then suddenly, him and Cassy disappeared in the first line onslaught of nightwalkers.

With an angry huff and a big burst of letting go of my pride, I rolled the window up and sank back into the seat. None of the nightwalkers seemed interested in me. Instead, their attention was all on the house.

I wearily glanced down and rolled up the loose sleeves of Alec's shirt to survey the leftover bite marks from Jakobi. There were no marks.

What…?

With faint realization, I noticed the only faint scars of fang marks were from where Alec had bitten me. It tingled when I touched it. My eyes widened. Oh. My. God. I was a daywalker. A vampire now! How had that _not_ processed before? My hand automatically went up to my chest. I could feel my heart beating still.

That's because I was still alive… right?

Nightwalker's were the ones that died. Daywalker's remained alive.

Not to mention the only daywalker's I knew and…_loved, _were out there fighting for their lives and then some. And I wasn't helping. I paused and looked down at myself. I could fight now, couldn't I? Hell, I'd known karate before I'd turned vampire, so my skills would be probably five times better. With an exasperated sigh, I reached for the door handle to rip the door open so I could help fight.

It opened for me.

With a gasp, I looked up with widened eyes. Rylan stood there, looking in at me with his familiar green eyes. Nightwalker's were coming towards us, now realizing I was also a threat.

Like before, with a swift sense of déjà vu, Rylan was helping me do something dangerous. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the car and said, "I knew you wouldn't last as a conformist for long."

I gave him a wry smile and without hesitating, turned to the fifty or so nightwalker's in the nighttime, not including the ones probably currently inside. Just how strong were daywalker's compared to the evil vampires? It seemed Alec and Cassidy were doing a hell of a good job.

"All you need to do is-" Rylan paused one moment and grabbed an incoming nightwalker by the throat and ripped its head apart from its shoulders. I stared in horror at the scene unfolding and the disgusting smell of nightwalker blood. "rip their heads off or, make them bleed until they have nothing left."

He claimed it so calmly that it scared me.

It was startling how serious Rylan was.

Glancing down at my hands, I took a deep breath. "So from here on, they won't hesitate to kill me, will they?" I asked quietly. Rylan didn't have to answer. In fact, he didn't have time to answer.

Five nightwalker's came upon us, snarling, blood dripping from elongated fangs. Their eyes gleamed dangerously like rubies, blood like crimson staining their clothes. The terrible sight of them froze me. Rylan sprang into action, blocking one from reaching out to me with an elbow to its face.

"You can't just stand there." he stated vivaciously, and backhanded the nightwalker so hard that I heard a snap of bones. With a shudder of disgust, I processed that these creatures were going to kill us if we didn't kill them.

It was time to lift my chin up and fight like the daywalker I now was.

And when I did lift my chin, I was tackled from the left by a jaw-snapping beast. With a shocked cry, I grabbed it by the face as it zoomed in on my neck, and pushed it away as far as I could to knee it as hard as I could in the stomach. It barely fazed it, but it hesitated a moment, and with a sharp intake of breath, I grabbed it -_his_ head and twisted and yanked.

Blood splattered over me and I instantly held my breath to ignore the smell and looked away. Out of my peripheral, Rylan sent me a satisfied smile that I'd killed my first nightwalker, and then he returned to fighting.

I shoved the body off of me and quickly sprang to my feet as a couple others approached me. They were flooding in like waves! I honestly wasn't sure if I could handle this.

So, instead of trying to think like a daywalker would, I thought like Ava. I gathered up all the emotions I'd been holding in these past eight months, and let them reign terror.

I grabbed the nearest monster and yanked him towards me, flipping him over my arm and snapping his neck in the process. It seemed so easy to me, but I was sure he wasn't dead yet. Before I could finish him off, something swiped across my cheek, and I felt a cool liquid drip down my jaw.

I lifted a hand up to my cheek in shock and it came back bloody. My eyes shot to the side of me, and one of the nightwalker's was smirking, a large knife in his hand. I obviously underestimated them.

Lesson one: never turn your back on a nightwalker. But duh, wasn't this a "no, really Sherlock?" moment?

I let out an annoyed growl that sound inhuman, and left the unconscious vampire on the ground with a snapped neck as I practically teleported (or what it seemed like anyways) in front of the nightwalker with a knife. He seemed shocked for a moment, and stumbled back a step. I reached my hand out lightning fast and took hold of his neck.

Did I mention the newborn Nightwalker's were stupid?

Of course, I'd just now found that out.

He swiped at me again with the knife, and I barely dodged it by grabbing onto his wrist with my other hand. I swept my leg out and tripped him onto his back, and with a wince, I twisted his arm until I heard it snap. He let out an agonized cry.

That was a huge mistake. His cry was like a signal, because half the beasts surrounding us that had been occupied with the other daywalker's, turned to glance warily at us. When they saw me, my eyes widened.

"Shit."

I ripped the knife out of the broken arm of the nightwalker and stabbed it into him three times before nearly tripping back towards the car as the other evil vampires came stalking towards me.

Alec appeared beside me, covered in blood. His chest was marred with a few wounds here and there, but they were slowly healing before my eyes, and the bloodthirsty ones of the nightwalker's.

"I can't believe I'm seeing you holding a knife and kicking ass." he commented, kicking the head in of a nightwalker brutally. I reached forward and staked the knife deep into one of their chests. Ripping the knife back out, I sent him a sidelong smirk.

"I can't believe you came back to save me."

He took out another, much more smoothly. "Yeah, well, I figured we'd have to make up for lying."

"I think I forgave you guys awhile ago." I muttered. He heard, but didn't say anything. He grabbed a nightwalker and shoved his fist through his stomach, and then heaved him back into the crowd of his kin. "And that was nasty."

Alec only smiled genuinely. "Would you rather that happen to you? They're slower than us, and maybe dumber, but they can be vicious."

"Come to think of it…" I trailed off to slice my newfound knife across any part of another monster's body, and then finished with a gruff, "where the hell is Jakobi and his sidekick?"

"They disappeared awhile ago." Rylan's voice echoed beside me. I looked over just in time to see him knock out a nightwalker that was reaching for me.

"Disappeared?" I exclaimed angrily. He left us to deal with his dirty work?

Rylan was about to say something else, but there was an piercing scream from the house. With a jolt of comprehension, I recognized the voice to be Cassidy's. The nightwalker's around us froze, and glanced back at the large house probably in shambles on the inside.

"Mom!" Alec gasped breathlessly beside me, and I was shocked to see him fly into action so fast, especially for the woman he had once held a grudge for. How much had I missed while they were gone? Alec disappeared, shoving and ripping his way through the nightwalker's.

Rylan grabbed me around the waist, and I cried out in surprise when he practically cleared the whole driveway of nightwalker's with a single jump.

We rushed in after Alec, fully aware of the monster's of the night coming after us. In the center of the den room, the furniture torn and nightwalker bodies laying everywhere, Cassidy was being held by Jakobi, who had a bruising grip around her throat. Her clothes were torn, and her once gorgeous face had been scratched and marred. Her hair was everywhere, and the look on her face told us she was frightened.

Alec, Claude, Lukas and Brent were surrounding them, fists clenched, jaws set. Rylan remained calm beside me, glancing back warily at the noisy nightwalker's breaking in through the door.

"Come any closer, and I'll kill this bloody bitch." Jakobi threatened. My hands went to my mouth to muffle the gasp. How could he be such a vengeful bastard?

His eyes turned on me suddenly, as if now recognizing I was in the room. His eyes were wild and bright red, and they flickered behind me. "No! Don't go near her! She's mine!" he snarled. I looked behind me and Rylan and all the nightwalker's froze in their steps. We had lowered the numbers by a lot.

Now there only stood at least fifteen or twenty. That wasn't including the nightwalkers across the den room, behind Claude and Lukas. They too, were watching the scene with amused eyes.

"We want to taste her, though, master." One of the braver nightwalker female's purred, taking a step toward me. "I've always wanted to taste newborn daywalker blood."

I unconsciously stepped closer to Alec, and Rylan stepped between me and the female. She hissed and bared her fangs at him, but he only gave a low growl back, showing the tips of his deadly fangs as well. I remembered those fangs quite clearly, too.

Looking back at Jakobi, I saw him watching me with heated eyes. "I can't believe you chose to become one of _them_." he spat.

I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to make a snarky comment, but Alec interrupted me. "She didn't have the choice. I forced her, because otherwise, she wouldn't have made it out of here alive."

"Yes she would have. As one of us." Jakobi motioned to himself and then his kin, and Alec snorted.

"That isn't _alive_."

Jakobi tightened his grip on Cassy's neck, making her give a weak cry. Claude snarled, and I'd never seen him so terrifyingly angry before. His pupils dilated, making his irises completely black. Before he could dive in for the kill, Brent grabbed onto his arm and kept him back.

Claude didn't take his eyes off of Jakobi, and growled, "What do you want? I'll do anything, just release her!"

Jakobi smiled. No, it wasn't a smile. It was a morbid smirk. He looked at me, and I got a sinking feeling. He couldn't possibly want me now! I'd become a daywalker, I'd foiled his plans!

"Allow us to kill the girl, and I'll release your beloved Cassidy."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

_And The Victory Goes To…_

I never thought that someone would have to make such an atrocious choice before. Forcing a man to choose between his wife and a girl who he just risked his life to come back to save?

It was malicious and shameful. But what more could you expect from a creature of the night; an unforgiving being called a nightwalker?

Alec stepped in front of me. "As much as I love my mother, I refuse to sacrifice Ava. In fact, I'm not stupid. None of us are. You'll kill them both when you get a chance, just to make yourself feel better about us killing your brother. If you would like, you can gladly join him." He cracked his knuckles with a tightening of his fist, and I shuddered. Alec was scary when he wanted to be.

And wait, did Alec just say he wouldn't sacrifice me? I think that's been the most heart-felling thing he's said about me…_ever_.

Jakobi narrowed his eyes in on Alec. "I wasn't talking to you, little boy. I was talking to your father. It'll be his choice, not yours."

Alec made a snarling noise that sounded halfway between a hiss and a growl, and his muscles coiled as he leaned down a bit, ready to pounce. I did the one thing I could at that moment, and grabbed him, latching myself onto his arm. He froze and glanced my way, extremely irritated, but he didn't make a move then.

We all looked back at Claude, and I felt my heart leap into my throat. He had a torn look on his face. Poor Cassidy's face was turning pink, and she gripped onto Jakobi's wrist with white fingertips. All Jakobi would have to do is jerk his arm any way and she'd be dead. I didn't want to think about that.

As much as I despised Cassidy, I couldn't let her family suffer because of my idiocy.

Claude put his hands to his face and sank to his knees. "I-I'm so sorry Cassidy… and Ava… but… I can't choose…" he muttered into his hands, and I smelt the fresh saltiness of tears. Daywalker's could cry? I felt tears sting the lids of my eyes too. Poor Claude…

I gulped down the lump in my throat and stepped forward. That little movement I made had every nightwalker in the room tensing up or hissing. Jakobi smiled at me, and Alec and Rylan both grabbed my wrists.

"Don't you dare even think about it, idiot!" Alec hissed, his nails biting into my skin. Rylan remained an easier hold on me, but still tight enough that I wouldn't move any further.

I shook my head and looked back at Alec. He was pissed off, but the mix of emotions on his face made it hard to tell which other things he was feeling. "I got you guys into this mess…" I murmured, feeling my insides coil in annoyance that I was giving up. I had almost given up before, but Alec saved me.

Jakobi suddenly spoke, amusement filling his voice, and his next words made me freeze. "I didn't think it'd be this easy. I thought I'd have to include the death's of the others as well."

I shot my eyes to his. "The other Darquecaster's can take care of themselves! You've seen how many of your filthy things they've killed!" I exclaimed.

Jakobi gave a curt shake of his head. "Not them... Renova dear, bring the others out."

…_bring the others out_…

Why hadn't I envisioned this before it happened? Or was this all supposed to remain unexpected, thanks to my vision that I'd had of Jakobi nearly killing me? Was this just the end of the vision that I hadn't finished viewing?

A movement behind us had me spinning on my heel, and the shocked cry that rose in my throat got caught on my gasp for breath.

Renova and a few other nightwalker's walked through, holding Elly, Max, my foster mother and my foster father roughly by the arms as they pushed them towards our circle. They were each duct-taped at the mouth, and they frantically looked at me.

Oh. My. God.

Elly was crying, and Max was trying to fight against the male that was holding onto him. Joshua and Rebecca, though terrified, remained still.

The emotions that bubbled up inside of me were agonizing. Anger came first. We all know what happened when I got angry. Without thinking of the consequences, I pivoted and attacked Jakobi.

Out of his own bewilderment, he dropped Cassidy. Obviously he hadn't been expecting this. My body slammed into his, and we both went tumbling to the ground. He spun me over so he sat on top of me, and wrapped his hands around my throat. "You little bitch! You think you could escape me?" he laughed manically.

My move of attacking Jakobi had sent the whole room into a flurry of moving bodies and more blood. I didn't take the chance to look away from Jakobi to see if my friends and family were safe, because I knew they'd be protected by the Darquecaster's.

And so, all my concentration and the hate I had built up for Jakobi was finally released.

I pulled my fist back and slammed it into his face as hard as I could. I hit his jaw and hurt a crack, and he gave a grunt of pain and moved back just enough for me to switch our positions. I punched him again and again, and he made no move to stop me. In fact, he was laughing.

It angered me even more.

Something out of the corner of my eye shined, and I glanced over to see the knife I had obviously dropped awhile ago on my way in here. The nightwalker's and daywalker's were stepping over it and it was still several feet away, near the front door. I had to get it.

"Never look away for even a moment!" Jakobi said, and I looked back down in shock as he slashed his nails across the front of my -err, Alec's shirt. It tore through the collar and hit my chest above my breasts, and instantly blood began leaking. Dammit!

I rolled off of him quickly, dodging the oncoming feet and fighting vampires. I dove for the knife, but someone grabbed my ankle. I let out an oomph as I fell onto my side, and looked down.

Jakobi had crawled after me. Blood was dripping from his mouth, and his eyes were wild and excited. Nightwalker's were insane. _Sick in the head_. I let out a frustrated outcry and kicked him in the nose with my other foot. He pulled back and covered his bleeding and probably broken nose, and I took that chance to lean forward to grab the hilt of the knife.

Someone's foot landed on my wrist. And let me tell you, it was a heeled foot too. With stiletto boots. I gritted my teeth when the person dug the heel into my skin and I glared upwards. Renova smirked down at me.

Before I could shove her off of me, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my calf. I cried out and looked down once more. Jakobi had slammed a large piece of glass from a broken window into my leg. I watched as blood began slowly oozing out, and he grinned and leaned down to lick it.

I instantly felt sick to my stomach.

"_Get the fuck off her you stupid asshole_!" Elly's voice screamed through the room. Nobody except us paid attention, and suddenly a broken chair leg came out of no where and slammed into Jakobi's face. I wasn't sure how much more his screwed up face could take now.

Renova let go of my foot and snarled at Elly, who, in the midst of the battle had escaped the hold of the nightwalker and ripped the duct tape off her mouth. Now she stood like a warrior with a…chair leg.

Jakobi was still alive, too. He groaned and writhed on the ground, attempting to stand back up. As Renova dived towards Elly, I shot forward and grabbed the knife.

Then I flipped onto my knees and grabbed Renova's leg. She fell forward, and I raised the knife above my head to stab her. Her eyes widened and she yelled. "No! I'm sorry! Please spare me!" she begged, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Even nightwalker's can cry…" I murmured and stabbed the knife into her until she stopped moving. I looked away from the gruesome scene and tried not to feel bad.

"You…little…_bitch_! _I have had enough of you_!" Jakobi screamed from beside us. He'd managed to get up to his hands and knees and if only looks could kill…

I'd be slaughtered.

His scream silenced the room, and all the movement around us blurred as he came at me. Oh dear lord, I was going to die. I hadn't been prepared for this at all.

I couldn't move my leg because the shard of glass had struck a muscle I was sure, and I was took shocked to move out of the way as he used his ignorant speed to wrap his hands around my neck and shove me to the floor.

My head hit the carpet and whatever was underneath it. It was a hard landing, and the back of my head slammed into it with a sickening thud. Stars sparkled in my vision, and blackness shrouded the corners of my eyes.

And then suddenly, the force around my neck let up, and Jakobi collapsed on top of me. I stared ahead of us at the ceiling in wonder. Why had he stopped? I felt cold liquid seeping onto me and drenching Alec's pretty white shirt.

"Avanni?" Rebecca's voice asked, shaking in fear. I looked over at her, and blinked. Her eyes went down to the body of Jakobi laying on top of me. "I-I think you killed him…"

With a weak shove against his body, he turned over onto his back, and I leaned over on my side to look at him.

The knife that I had been holding had still been in my hands when he attacked me. It had sank into his stomach to the hilt, and blood had spurted from the wound. I stared down at his bloodied, beat up face emotionlessly. I'd killed him. All my worries were done for now, right?

"Ava?" Joshua's cautious voice sounded from behind me. I slowly looked around the room to see everybody; my friends, my family, the Darquecaster's, looking at me in wonder and amazement and pride. Dead bodies of our enemies lay scattered_ everywhere_.

But we were okay. Alec came forward first, whilst everyone else was scared to come near me. Of course, I was now a daywalker, a blood-sucking vampire, and Alec had created me. He leaned down, not looking into my face, and grabbed the glass from my leg. I winced when he yanked it out.

Instantly, the wound began its healing process. He took my wrist and studied the already healing stiletto wound. Finally, he dropped it and looked at me. Just when I thought he was going to be a sweetheart and applaud me for being awesome and totally kickass, he opened his mouth and all good thoughts about him fled.

"You must really have an issue with your brain. What stupid moron dives into a fight without thinking first?" He flicked me in the forehead, non-too-gently of course. I glared at him and sat up.

"What else would you expect I should have done?" I said angrily.

"Sat back and let _us_ do the hard work!"

"Oh, so now you think us females have to step back and let the males do the big stuff? Did you see what Elly did?" I exclaimed, motioning towards my best friend.

Wait…

Both Alec and I paused, stared at each other for a short second, and looked up to Elly. She stood a couple of feet away from us, glancing between us in confusion. Max stood next to her, but his eyes were glued to my healing wounds. I suddenly felt an inexplicable thirst fall over me. I swallowed, but my mouth was cotton dry. Alec seemed to sense this.

"We need to get you cleaned up and fed." he said. Fed? As in _human_ blood? This was going to take some getting used to...

"What the hell? You're a vampire?" Joshua gasped. I finally looked back at my foster parents and my eyes widened.

"You guys are okay!" I cried out happily.

They both smiled, dismissing the vampire comment, and hugged me. It was true, neither of them had a bloody wound. Maybe a couple scratches here and there and bruise every now and then, but they were fine.

"I gotta congratulate you, honey. You did amazing." Rebecca murmured into my hair. I smiled and pulled back after a few moments. Everyone suddenly closed in on me and asked if I was okay. None of them seemed to care I was covered in blood.

Brent hugged me tightly first and apologized a million times. Lukas kept his lips and hands to himself and hugged me, telling me he missed me. Claude apologized a lot as well, and Cassidy remained at the back of the group, but watched me with a small smile on her face.

Did this mean I was accepted?

"Alright, I think we should take this all somewhere else." Joshua announced suddenly. "We're going to need to clean this place up and burn the bodies."

Elly's eyes suddenly lit up from her place next to me. She'd absolutely ignored Alec, which surprised me. She raised a hand and exclaimed joyfully, "Does this mean we get to have a bonfire?"


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

_Something She May Never Know_

Claude snapped his phone shut and turned to us. Behind him, a large flame began burning surreptitiously, crackling and creating a rancid smell of burning nightwalker. "I just called Rory. She's on her way with a change of clothes and blood for Ava." he announced.

I sat between Becca and Joshua, who each had an arm around me, and tried constantly to pull down Alec's shirt over my knees. Speaking of Alec, he was currently leaning against his car behind us with Lukas and Brent. Rylan and Cassidy were finishing up throwing the last of the nightwalker bodies into the growing flames.

Becca smiled appreciatively up at Claude. "Thank you. I almost can't believe you guys are back." she murmured. Claude looked at her for a lengthy time, that longing for my foster mother still burning in his eyes.

Claude had once fallen in love with Becca, and Joshua had fallen in love with Cassidy. They'd eventually split up, and that was how Joshua and Becca had met each other years ago.

And now, here I was, caught in the midst of it. I looked away from Claude and peered past the growing smoke of the fire to Rylan. He sensed me staring, and looked back at me. I still wasn't sure if I'd fully forgiven him for biting me. But it wasn't like either of us had been able to stop the pleasurable feeling it had brought.

Hesitantly, I offered him a small smile. He looked away from me for a moment at the fire, and then back at me. My breath caught when I noticed the corner of his lip twitch upwards into a partial smile. But as soon as it had come, it was gone.

I glanced over Joshua's shoulder to Max and Elly, who were leaning against each other. Max caught my eyes and whispered something to Elly. I was surprised that I could hear him say, "I'll be right back."

He stood up and brushed off his jeans, then walked over to kneel in front of me. Becca and Joshua released me and moved away, obvious to the fact that it was time for us to talk alone. Well, this would be as alone as we could get with vampire ears around us.

Max smiled at me. "I know everyone's already asked you this, but…how are you feeling as a vampire?"

I grinned. "I can smell your blood and hear your heart pumping, if that's what you mean."

It was true. I could smell every humans blood here, but for some reason, I wanted to taste Max the most. His blood smelled delicious, making my mouth water. But it was the beating of his heart that held me back from biting into his throat. I didn't want to hurt Max at all. I wondered if this was how the Darquecaster's had managed being around me all the time. I wondered what my blood had smelled like as a human.

Max's smile faltered. "Yeah… that's, uh, going to take some time getting used to." He reached out suddenly and pulled something from my hair, touching my cheek in the process.

That simple notion had Alec beside us in a second. I looked up in surprise when Alec grabbed Max's wrist and gave a low warning growl. "Hands off. Unless you want your wrist bitten into, I suggest you keep clear reign of her mouth, Max."

For a minute, everyone went silent around us. I stared in awe up at Alec, who didn't look angry, but irritated instead. Did he just call Max by his actual name and not dog or mutt? Then I noticed something else, as Alec released Max. "Are you feeling protective over him?" I asked slyly, a smirk appearing on my face.

Alec shot me a glare and snorted. "No, imbecile, it's because I know you'd regret biting him later on."

He had a point. Max became annoyed though; I could tell by the look on his face. He stood up and crossed his arms defensively. "Look, I know your reasons, and I realize she could bite me. I wouldn't let her regret it. I love her and I want her to do what she wants to do, so stay out of our relationship."

This seemed to catch everyone's attention to a breaking point. Alec blinked. He looked at me, then Max and back at me, surprise evident on his face. "How much have I missed this whole time?" he asked, astonished.

Max and I shared a look, but before I could open my mouth, a sharp pain seared through my stomach, and instantly, my upper gums in my mouth began throbbing, giving me a headache. I groaned and leaned forward, the world spinning.

Someone grabbed me and said something, but the throbbing coming from my mouth resonated through my ears. There was a distant rumbling noise in the background, and lights flashed before my eyelids.

And all at once, a delicious liquid, though a bit cold, was practically shoved into my mouth through a package. I grabbed onto it and sucked against the plastic. Each huge gulp I took lessened the pain from my gums. My stomach gladly welcomed it, and it took me a moment to realize what I was drinking.

Blood.

But it tasted delicious.

The empty blood packet fell from my hands and I sucked in a deep, shaky breath, putting a hand to my forehead. "Avanni? I've brought you some clothes, shampoo and soap." Rory's gentle, but strong voice stated in front of me. I looked up in surprise. I felt much better after drinking that blood, but now I just felt completely disgusted with myself. It helped that I had new clothes to change into.

She smiled proudly at me. "I'm glad you stayed strong through that vision. I can't wait to hear the details of what happened. And now that you're a vampire like us…" she trailed off suddenly, and I looked over at my foster parents and friends, who each had wide eyes.

I felt a sudden ache burden my shoulders. I was a vampire now. That meant I'd live longer than any of them. Becca seemed to understand first. With a bold smile and voice, she patted my shoulders and kissed my forehead. "We know, Ava. Don't feel regret, please. At least you're alive. We can discuss more after you get cleaned up and fed a bit more…eh, uh, blood."

I gave her a weak smile in response and nodded. With Rory's help, I stood up and took the clothes and shower products. Claude then led me upstairs in their torn up house to go to a bathroom that was still pieced together nicely.

When he left me alone, I tested the shower water and was relieved to find the water pumps were still working. I stayed in the shower for what seemed like ever, going over my thoughts and memories.

I'd killed the nightwalker's who had been out for revenge, and was changed into a daywalker. I'd outlive everyone I loved the most by a long shot, but I wasn't about to let that hurt me yet. They still had awhile to live.

As I washed my body, I rinsed off one of my soapy hands and touched the inside of my mouth, where my canine teeth were supposed to be. They were still there, dull, like a humans teeth. Funny, I could have sworn they'd grown sharper earlier. Did they only come out when someone was hungry?

With a sigh, I finished my shower and dried off quickly.

Rory had brought me a comfy pair of cotton pajama bottom that were black with pink, red, blue and purple polka dots. Cute and in style, really. I slipped on the white tank-top, and then the button-up black cardigan. It was cozy, compared to the bloodied white shirt of Alec's.

I looked down at said shirt and folded it up neatly, sticking it into one of the large, smooth pockets of the PJ bottoms. I could bleach it to hell and back when I got home, and hopefully it will come back out good as new.

I trotted down the stairs, wary that the smell of the nightwalker's was slowly vanishing. Downstairs, all I saw were blurs. My eyes followed the daywalker's moving around quickly. They were throwing out the broken tables, furniture, and anything of the sort into the fire pile. The carpets were being scrubbed by Cassy and Rory, and I watched as Lukas swept up the broken window glass efficiently.

I guess this was one of the things that vampires definitely came in handy for. Fast, ultra-excellent cleaning.

All the nightwalker bodies were finally burned. I peered out the window, creeping past the moving daywalker's who didn't bother noticing me, and watched Elly and Max and Joshua and Becca as they all chatted calmly by the fire, basking in the warm glow it brought.

A small smile caught on my lips.

The disaster was finally over with. The people I had banished were back and with no more lies. I could live with my friends and family until their time came, unless they wished to become one of us. It would be their choice, however.

"A lot has changed." Alec's voice said beside me. I didn't bother looking at him. My eyes traced the flickering flames of the "bonfire".

"If you'd like to see it that way." I murmured.

There was a short silence between us, and the only thing I could hear was the soft talking of the humans, and the noises of the cleaning going on behind us.

"I'm wondering if changing you into a vampire was a good thing or not." Alec commented.

I finally looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Why do you say that?"

He smirked that familiar smirk that always got on my nerves, and still did to this day. "I could have left you to die, and you wouldn't have had to worry about this dramatic world again." He shrugged his shoulders and I rolled my eyes.

"I would've figured out how to live one way or another without your help." I muttered.

"I believe that." Alec stated sarcastically.

I punched his shoulder hard enough to make him stumble back a step. I smirked at his surprised expression. "Careful what you say, Darquecaster, I have both enough mental _and_ physical strength to take you out now."

Alec growled. "I doubt that. You're still as weak as you were when you were a human!"

I stepped toward him, my blood boiling for a fight. "Oh yeah? Want to test that theory?"

"I'd love to." Alec replied, cracking his knuckles.

Before I could retort, Elly's voice interrupted. "Shove it, Alexander Darquecaster. If you don't mind, I've gotta talk with Ava for a minute or two."

Her sudden words made a laugh bubble from my throat. Alec blinked at her, obviously astonished she was no longer obsessed with him, _and_ she had the audacity to back-talk a vampire. I smiled triumphantly at Alec and stalked past him, our shoulder's bumping into each other as I followed Elly outside.

We walked towards the edge of the forest, well away from the ears of the Darquecaster's and Rory. She turned to me and smiled a half smile.

"So, um, I just wanted to apologize for being a stuck up bitch."

"And?" I motioned for her to continue. Her face fell.

"And for hanging out with your school enemy, Sienna."

"And…?"

Elly's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "And everything else I did that was completely one-hundred percent stupid of me. My idiocy ruined everything between us and I honestly truly missed you this whole time. You know, Sienna isn't as cool as everyone thinks. You wanna know what she does when she's alone? She-"

I immediately put my hand up. "Elly, shut the hell up. I think I forgive you about the last eight months, but I will _never_ forgive you if you tell me what you were just about to say about Sienna Murphy."

A huge smile made its way onto Ellyria's face, and before either of knew what was happening, we were hugging. I pulled away before I had the urge to drink her blood, and smiled at her. She looked back at Max, who remained next to Joshua by the fire. Becca was now chatting with Rory, who obviously finished with the floors.

"Max really likes you, ya know." Elly suddenly mentioned.

I looked at the side of her face as she continued looking at her brother. "I knew that."

"That means if you talk to him, he'll let you go."

Finally Elly looked at me with the last word of her sentence. I stared at her, oblivious. "What are you talking about?"

Elly gave a sad smile. "I know you love Alec. Max will let you go out of his love for you, so you can continue living your vampire life without having to worry about him being a human."

_I know you love Alec_.

What? Her words suddenly made no sense to me, even though they were said as plain as day.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29**_

_You Want Me To Do What?_

An hour later, the inside of the Darquecaster mansion was pretty clean. Claude was going to make appointments to fix the windows and buy new furniture the next day while we were all at school. I was sipping on a blood bottle, but the thought that I was drinking _human_ blood made me wince. That wasn't what was really bothering me though. How observant was Elly? She sure did surprise me a lot.

I thought my feelings for Alec had been the hateful-sibling kind of feelings, not _love_. Now that was saying something. Besides, maybe she was wrong. Maybe I didn't love Alec. Did he really feel the same about me though? Or was Elly instigating me to try to be with him?

I let my head fall against the wall I was leaning against as Joshua and Claude said their goodbyes to each other. My foster mother and Rory were speaking few words with Cassidy, but it appeared they were getting along.

Maybe Cassy _could _be mature.

"You look like you're thinking too hard." Brent commented from beside me. I glanced at him in surprise. He'd snuck up on me. Maybe I _had_ been thinking to hard. Brent grinned, reading my mind. "Obviously."

I raised an eyebrow. "When do my powers kick in?"

"You may not have any amazing ones like me."

I snorted. "Yours is just a pain in the ass. It takes away all privacy."

Brent silently agreed. We looked toward the others. Alec was conversing with Lukas quietly, and Max was sitting beside Elly who -my eyes stopped right there. Elly was talking to Rylan.

And he was replying.

And looking at her.

Chemistry?

I raised my eyebrows. I'd have to look into that tomorrow at school. Wait… school? "What time is it?" I asked Brent. He looked down at the watch strapped to his wrist.

"3:39 AM." He replied bitterly.

My mouth dropped open. Nearly five hours had passed since I had been at the party, but it didn't even seem like that. Everything had gone by in a blur. Then again, usually when you're fighting vampires and alongside them, things get quicker.

I groaned and set my blood bottle down and went to move past Brent to tell Joshua and Becca we needed to go and take my car, Elly and Max back home. Suddenly Brent grabbed hold of my wrist and yanked me back toward him. I let out a surprised gasp and for once caught myself with my new vampire reflexes so I didn't go crashing into him. I stopped inches from him as he stared down at me.

I could have sworn I saw tears glimmer in his eyes. "W-what?" I asked, clearly shocked.

Without replying, he pulled me into a bear-hug. "I'm so sorry that we left you like this. We didn't realize that Jakobi got out of the city we were in. We had been hunting him this whole time, but he was smart."

"He wasn't that strong though." I muttered into his shirt, although it came out muffled and something like this, "Fe fwavsent dat ftrong doh."

Brent let out a laugh and pulled me back to kiss me on the cheek. "I'm just glad you're one of us and not one of…_him._ Have you heard from Tiffany… at all?"

I let a smile form on my face. "Actually, yes, and I'm almost sure she'll have a heart attack when she sees you tomorrow -err, later today at school."

Brent let out a sigh of relief and smiled at me. "Well then, I guess we'll see each other in a few hours at school?"

I smiled back. "Guess so." I turned and made to leave, but paused and then glanced back at Brent, pondering whether I should ask him the question that was currently bothering me. He raised his eyebrows when he read my mind, and I silently cursed him.

"You want to know about Alec's feelings toward you?" he asked quietly, almost a whisper. I glanced around, but all the vampires were minding their own business and still quite a ways away.

I looked back at Brent and sucked in a deep breath. "Elly hinted at it."

Brent's lips were set in a thin, tight line as he studied me. Then his eyes slid to Alec, and remained there for a minute. I watched as his lips curled up into a slight smirk. He shook his head. "You'll have to find out today at school. Go home and get some rest now."

And that was it. With an airy sigh, I headed off to tell my foster parents and friends we needed to go.

I barely said goodbye to anyone except Claude, Brent, Rory and Lukas. The others stayed off to the sidelines and silent, but I knew I'd see them at school later -save for Cassy. On our way home after dropping off Elly and Max, I yawned. I was only going to get like four hours of sleep. Shitty.

* * *

I slept, I woke up, I got ready for school. It was still hot from the wearing off summer weather, so I dressed in white Capri's and a dark blue tunic. Grabbing my brush after eating breakfast and brushing my teeth, I glanced at the clock just as I raised the brush to my hair. My eyes widened.

"Shit!" I cursed _awfully_ loudly, and threw down the brush. Running back into my room, I heaved my backpack over my shoulder and darted out my door…vampire style.

"Hey, you're late for school." Joshua commented as I blurred past him. Obviously he was used to the fast stuff.

"I know!" I hissed, leaving the house and running to my car. I opened the door and threw my bag into the passenger's, and then climbed in. Just as I was about to shut the car door, Joshua whistled from the front door of our house. I glanced up and saw him twirling my car keys around his fingers.

"You forgot these." he noted, tossing them to me. I caught them with my amazing reflexes, in which were going to take me forever getting used to, and sighed heavily.

"This would be so much easier if I could just run to school!" I growled, slamming my door shut and starting my car.

I heard Joshua chuckling as he walked back inside the house, and before he shut the door, I heard him say loud and clear -even through my window-, "You look like a rat attacked you."

I checked my hair in my rearview mirror and gave an aggravated groan. Quickly and efficiently, I dragged my fingers through my hair to tug out the sleep knots. Then with a heavy sigh, I pulled out of my driveway to headed to school, actually anxious for once to see the Darquecaster's. As I drove, I looked down at the bite scar from Alec.

I still wondered how the hell he changed me. The scar looked like an original scar mark, only two fang marks instead. It could be mistaken for two spider bite scars, hopefully. After a couple minutes of driving, I pulled into a parking space in the parking lot of Canby High School and paused.

For some reason, thinking about Alec changing me turned me on.

What the fuck?

A knock on my window shocked me out of my horrid thoughts, and I looked up to see Max smiling in at me. I smiled back, immediately feeling guilty of thinking about Alec, grabbed my bag and left my car.

"Good morning to my hot vampire girlfriend." Max greeted me, grabbing hold of my hand. I looked away from him at the ground as we walked toward the school.

Now that I thought about it, it didn't feel right being with Max. As we entered the school and walked towards my locker, I brushed past people, ignoring their stares. I didn't know why they were watching us in the first place; they knew Max and I had been together for awhile now.

Max squeezed my hand and I looked up at him. He had a grim look on his face. "Every guy in this damn school has noticed how sexy you've gotten since becoming a vamp." he said quietly. I rolled my eyes. So _that_ was why. Actually, really, the only times I'd actually looked at myself in the mirror since last night were to brush my teeth and then check my hair this morning in my rearview mirror.

I finally looked up as we turned the corner to my locker, and immediately I sensed Alec. Funny, because he wasn't the only one near my locker, so why did I only sense him? The mark on my wrist tingled.

Alec looked up at me, and I finally set eyes on Elly who was standing right next to him. I stopped walking, and Alec stopped talking to her instantly as he looked at mine and Max's entwined hands. He may have the burning curiosity, but I have the stingy jealousy rising in my chest. I swear, if Elly became obsessed with him again…

She smiled brightly and ran to me to crush me into a hug. "Hey! We were just wondering where you were! Class is going to start in like two seconds!"

And just like that, the bell rang. Elly grabbed her bag and bid us goodbyes as she headed off to her first period class. I opened my locker and made to grab my textbooks, but Max turned me and planted a firm kiss on my lips. I stood there, staring at him, as he smiled and turned, also walking away.

I stared blankly after him. Wasn't he at all fazed that I didn't kiss him back?

"You don't look like you share the same feelings." Alec said, making me jump in surprise. I totally forgot he'd been there. However, as soon as he spoke, his scar mark tingled again. I glanced over at him as I grabbed my textbooks out.

"You're going to be late to class." I muttered.

"I was planning on walking you to class."

I stopped cold in my antics of putting my textbook in my bag, and glared at Alec. "So this is how it's going to be?" I demanded, slowly standing straight and crossing my arms. The hallways was clearing out, and classroom doors were beginning to shut. "You change me and then you act nice the next day?"

Alec's' mood darkened. I could sense it from the aura around him. Wow, vampire abilities never ended, did they? Not only that, but his pupils dilated for a short moment, and then went back to normal as he sighed. "I wanted to start off a bit differently, but since you're too stubborn and full of yourself-"

"Whoa, whoa! Hey!" I put a hand up to interrupt him and finished saying, "_I'm_ full of myself?"

Alec snorted, leaned down and grabbed my bag, slinging it over his shoulder. I stared at him.

"Uh…"

He appeared annoyed. "Hurry the hell up or else both of us are going to be late to History."

I blinked. "Wait, we have _another _first period together?" I cried out, astonished as I slammed my locker shut and hurried after him.

He didn't reply… nor did he slow his pace down at all.

I followed just behind him and stared at the back of his head as we walked. "You know… I think you're trying too hard. Before, you'd probably make me carry your bag as well."

"That can be arranged." He paused in his footsteps and I glared at him as I caught up. Then we started walking side-by-side.

"No, I'm good, really. You're just acting…nice."

There was a long etch of silence, and I realized we were walking awfully slow. "How long have you and Max been together?" He suddenly asked.

"A few months." I replied, watching the floor as I walked on it.

"Break up with him."

His words made me stop walking completely and stare wide-eyed at him. He trailed a few more steps and looked back at me with a serious face. I sensed no joke or lie coming from him. "What?" I breathed.

Alec narrowed his eyes. "I said break up with Max."

Well one, that definitely sounded more like _Alec_, but two, what the hell?


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

_Here It Goes Again_

"W-who the hell gave you the right to boss me around?" I hissed in a shocked response. Alec dropped my bag and walked towards me. I refused to step back, and instead kept my eyes glued to his as he grabbed my arm and held it up to my view so that I could see his bite marks on my wrist clearly.

"It isn't a _who_. _I_ left this mark on _you_. It'll be left there forever."

I yanked my arm back and glared at him. "That doesn't mean anything! Besides, I've never seen any marks on you from when your mother changed you!" I retorted.

Alec suddenly unbuttoned the top of his shirt and pulled it down his shoulder a bit. I almost blushed at seeing his bare skin, but what I saw barely hidden by his shirt was the bite mark. It was faint, but there. When he pulled his shirt back up and buttoned it, he gave me a smug look.

"Satisfied?" he grunted, turning away from me and picking up my bag. Without a backward glance, he tossed my bag back at me and I caught it. "Carry it on your own."

I huffed and followed after him to class, in which we were really late to.

'''''

Up until lunch I had no other classes except first period with any of the Darquecaster's. I found it disappointing that I had first period with only Alec and not Brent or even Rylan. I could deal with Rylan. Before I went to the cafeteria, I stopped by the bathroom and looked in the mirror at myself for a long moment.

Max had been right. I didn't look like Avanni Maddox. I looked astounding. My hair was tame and curled softly at the ends. That was the style I'd never managed to keep it as. My eyes glittered in the dim lights of the bathroom, and weren't so dull anymore.

I had learned though that not all vampires were pretty like this. It was really unfortunate.

With a sigh, I made my way out of the bathroom and to the cafeteria. I paused as soon as I walked in. I watched as Tiffany sent Elly a weird look for sitting at our table, but as Brent made his way over, Tiffany's eyes widened ever so slowly. The other Darquecaster's sat down in boredom, but Brent remained standing and sent Tiffany a huge smile.

"Oh my _God_!" Tiffany cried out and practically attacked Brent with a huge embrace. I watched and listened from a distance. I wasn't their only audience either. Our table and some of the other tables surrounding ours were watching the scene intently.

I heard Brent say, "I need to tell you something important before our relationship continues."

My heart sped up almost painfully. Tiffany glanced at him and then around the room. She smiled at me and I gave her a thumbs-up. Then she nodded to Brent and they left the cafeteria past me. Brent was going to tell her about vampires. I could only hope that would turn out well.

As I walked toward my table, Max stood and smiled at me. "I saved you a spot." he motioned to the seat between him and Elly. I sat down and looked across the table at Lukas, Alec and Rylan. Only Lukas was looking back at me. He smiled at me.

"So you two are going out?" he asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

My eyes went to Alec, and at the same time he looked up at me with an irritated face once more.

"Yeah." Max replied, grabbing my hand and placing our entwined hands on the table. Lukas whistled.

"You two don't seem like a likely couple."

"You didn't seem like an ignorant asshole when we first met, but when you opened your mouth, my opinion of you changed." Max said dryly. I was surprised at his quick comeback.

Lukas merely grinned. "How do you feel about Alec biting into her and changing her into one of us?"

Before Max could reply, I hissed at Lukas. It sounded very inhumane. It shut him up completely though, because he looked to me in surprise. "Knock it off already!" I bit out.

Great, now we were all back to square one.

"No, actually he has a point." Max said suddenly. I looked at him, no, we _all_ looked at him in astonishment, even Rylan. "I know about her making out with Rylan and him biting her as well." Oh my God, I started blushing. How did he know? "I also know that Lukas and her have kissed a few times."

Then Max turned to me with an unreadable expression on his face. I wanted to hide somewhere far away and never crawl out into the daylight again. There was only one person who could have told him and it had to be Elly. Word must have spread fast.

"I also know that you want to break up with me."

But _that_ fast?

Max's words made my entire body freeze and turn cold. I looked at him with wide eyes. His expression went from emotionless to pained. He let go of my hand when I didn't deny it and gave a fake smile.

"I really do like you, Ava." he muttered, and stood up, leaving the table. I could only stare after him in shock. I felt like a cruel, heartless being all of a sudden.

"Wow, is this high school drama or what?" Alec suddenly sighed in boredom. Elly rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I guess it's my job to go after him." And with that, she did so. I was stuck with Rylan, Alec and Lukas now.

In which, none of them spoke. I figured this was my chance to speak to Rylan. I stood up and tapped him on the shoulder. He peered at me. "Can I speak with you for a little bit? Alone?"

Without responding, he stood up elegantly and we moved out of the cafeteria. "I see how it is! Leave us all alone!" Lukas called after us.

I ignored them as we walked into a vacant hallway right outside the cafeteria. I turned on the vampire following me and took a deep breath.

"No." Was his bitter response.

The breath in my lungs was let out in a whoosh. "I didn't even ask yet!"

"There is nothing going on between Elly and I. I will not spend the rest of my life with such a bipolar female. I would prefer to be alone."

Damn him and his stupid mind climbing abilities!

"They are not stupid."

I huffed angrily and threw my hands in the air. "At least I can say I tried!" I exclaimed, turning and making my way back to the lunchroom. Rylan grabbed my wrist though, preventing me from leaving. I looked back at him. "What?" I demanded.

For a moment, he raised an eyebrow. "Maybe _you _are bipolar one." With a shake of his head, he said, "I wish to finish that painting of you."

My mind reeled back to the time I had been in his room, before he'd made out with me and then bit me. My eyes widened. "You still have that picture?"

"Yes."

"Fine. But on one condition."

"That is?"

"There has to be a chaperone to keep you from mind-molesting me and biting me again."

A tiny, almost invisible smirk appeared on his lips. "I agree."

I smiled in relief. It was good to have the Darquecaster's back, even if it meant more of their jackass attitudes.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

_We Are All Accepted_

After school, I waited patiently for Max. I was going to break up with him and madly pursue those unknown feelings I had for Alec. However, what if Elly was wrong? God forbid, if she was wrong about my loving Alec, I'd kick her to Timbuktu. Okay, that was an exaggeration.

"Waiting for Maximillion?" Alec's voice asked behind me. I was leaning against the driver's door to my car, and turned to see said vampire standing by the trunk of my car on the other side of the vehicle. He sat smoothly on the trunk and peered at me.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." I stated. I wasn't planning on telling him it was because he told me to, or because of what Elly said. Nuh uh, no way.

Alec smirked that smirk and made a "come hither" motion with his finger. I glared at him. "What?" I demanded, crossing my arms and stepping toward him once. The tingling sensation of his bite scar grew stronger.

"Are you doing this for me?" he asked innocently.

I snorted and turned away from him. "Absolutely not. I could care less about what you want."

His strong hand slithered out blindingly fast and latched painfully onto my wrist as he yanked me towards him. I somehow ended up between his legs with my whole body pressed hard against him. My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. His smirk grew.

"I think it's hilarious that even though you're a vampire, you're still as slow as ever."

I tried to wretch away from him but he kept a tight grip on my wrist, and his other arm snaked around my waist to hold me. His mouth went to my ear and he whispered softly,

"I have many years of being a vampire on you. I'm stronger and faster, smarter and better than you are. Do not try to defy the mark I have on you."

"This stupid mark means nothing!" I hissed back at him. "You changed me to save my life, nothing more."

Alec pulled back, a small smile on his face. For a moment though, I could have sworn I saw sadness pass through his eyes. Suddenly, he released me and I stumbled backwards.

"Ava?" Max's voice called from a couple cars away. He was walking towards us. Looking back at him I gave a weak smile, and then peered back at Alec.

He slid off my car and as he walked past me, I heard him whisper, "I changed you so we could be together longer."

I froze, my mind reeling in several directions. Perhaps my ears were playing tricks on me? I watched him walk away in all his elegant glory, and then Max was next to me in a second.

"What did he want?" he asked gruffly.

I blinked in confusion and looked at him. "Max…we need to-"

"Break up? Yes, I know."

My heart hurt for a moment at the thought of hurting Max. I've known him for awhile now and he was more of a best friend than a boyfriend. I hung my head in defeat. "I'm so sorry. I really think I like Alec a lot more than brought on."

"And here I thought you loved Rylan or Lukas." Max replied, sighing heavily. "So I guess this is it between us? Back to friends?" He held out his hand as a compromise.

I rolled my eyes and shoved his hand away, pulling him into a tight embrace. He hugged me back and laughed a little bit. After a minute, we let go of each other and climbed into my car.

As I drove him home, we talked about our school grades.

For that few minutes, we forgot all about vampires and talked like old friends.

* * *

When I got home, Joshua was in the living room speaking to Claude. When the noticed my arrival, Josh stood to give me a hug and Claude nodded his head in recognition.

"How are the house repairs going?" I asked Claude, sitting on the couch next to my foster dad.

Claude smiled and leaned forward. "Pretty well, actually. We've hired someone to come to our house to put in new windows right now and then we're done. Cassidy went furniture shopping, and I believe Lukas should be joining her about now to help carry things."

"That's excellent." I said, smiling widely. When we'd left their house, it had been in shambles from the inside out. It _literally _looked like Godzilla had attacked them.

"Yes, and we were just discussing your vampire dilemma." Joshua suddenly said.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "My vampire dilemma?"

Claude began explaining, "You're a newborn daywalker. Although your blood lust isn't as dangerous as a nightwalker's, if something were to happen, such as you had to eat human food, or you became angry somehow, you need to be able to hold back from biting. Therefore, we were wondering if…" He looked to Joshua, who looked at me, and I wearily looked back and forth between them.

"What?" I asked cautiously.

"…If you wanted to come live with us for a few more months."

I stared incredulously at him. Live with the Darquecaster's again? "W-why?"

Claude grinned. "We can teach you how to control yourself from biting people."

I blinked. "But Rylan bit me! He's an old vampire! Shouldn't he know how to control himself?" I demanded.

Claude's smile faded and he leaned back against the couch. "Actually, Rylan bit you out of lust… _sexual _lust." His voice had become soft.

I shuddered. That had been my second guess, of course. "Okay… I guess I'll think about it." I said calmly. Joshua side-hugged me and kissed my temple.

"We promise to visit you often, as long as you continue going to school." he joked. I rolled my eyes and hugged him back.

"I said I'll _think_ about it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get a blood bottle." I said it just to irk Josh, but he smiled at me and released me. I stood and headed toward the kitchen, just as Claude said,

"We installed locks on the bathroom doors now."

* * *

You know when you say you're going to do something, and you never do it?

Well, usually it was the opposite that I ended up with. But now, I didn't even think about it. I kind of just said yes as soon as I drank the rest of the blood in the fridge.

So here I was, standing in front of the Darquecaster mansion with two suitcases full of my clothes. Claude lead the way up the newly painted house and porch that had once been covered in nightwalker blood and…probably guts.

"Is anybody home yet?" I asked as we entered the new furnished house. He had been right about fixing it up. It looked brand new now. Before Claude could reply to me, Lukas peeked around the corner and smiled toothily at me.

"Just me, mom, Rylan and some other person." He said, and then took my wrist in his. Some other person? "Come see the furniture!" I should have been used to his optimism. He dragged me around the corner to the living room and then lifted my suitcases out of my hands. "I'll take these to your room." And then he disappeared without another word. I looked at the new furniture with a small smile on my face. It definitely corresponded a lot better.

My eyes landed on Cassidy, who was sitting on the loveseat reading a book. She peered at me over the cover and raised an eyebrow. "Staring is rude." she stated. Sooner than I could say anything, she added, "Living with us now? Oh lord."

I clamped my mouth shut to avoid any sharp comments and rolled my eyes instead. She went back to reading, and I turned to head upstairs to my room.

"If you're thirsty, there's a whole fridge of blood." Claude called up to me.

"Thanks!" I yelled back. I almost laughed at his use of words. To somebody else, that may have sounded ridiculous. But here, I felt like home. It was just right.

Lukas was just walking out of my room as I rounded the corner. He smiled and wrapped me in a bear-like hug. "Glad to have you back. I'm kind of depressed now, though. I won't be able to walk in on you undressing in the bathroom anymore."

I snorted and pushed him away. "Still as perverted as ever, I see." I mumbled, shoving past him and entering my room. It was still just as I had left it, too. I was thankful the nightwalker's had had no interest in it whatsoever.

Lukas suddenly grabbed my wrist, halting me in my tracks to throw myself onto my bed. I turned on him, ready to punch him if he tried doing anything dirty. Instead, he had a serious face on. "You want to know who that other person is?"

"Huh?"

"The other person who's here!"

"Sure?" I half-asked, half-stated.

"Your friend, Elly, or whatever her name is." Lukas answered quietly. My heart skipped a beat.

"Wha…where is Rylan?" I asked slowly.

"In his room."

"And… Elly?"

"In Rylan's room."

"Ah hell nah!" I hissed, ripping out of Lukas's grasp and shooting in the direction of Rylan's room. I was there within a second, and I stopped with a whoosh of air brushing my hair back. I sucked in a deep breath and knocked loudly on the door. Before I even got the second knock, it opened and Rylan stood there. Fully clothed. That was a good thing.

"Yes?" he demanded.

I pushed past him; which, it was like pushing past a boulder; and saw Elly sitting as still as a doll on the edge of his bed. A smile cracked her face but she didn't turn to look at me. She was looking at the art table of Rylan's. My heart stopped beating terribly fast.

"Hey Ava." she said in her usual, cheery voice.

"What the hell is going on?" I queried.

"Rylan wanted to draw me!" Elly replied, barely turning her head to rest her eyes on me. As she did that, Rylan appeared in front of her and gently touched her cheek to move her head back to the former position. "Sorry." she mumbled apologetically. I could have sworn I saw her blush, and when I heard her heart pick up beats, I knew she had.

I leaned against the door frame. "Only with a chaperone." I reminded Rylan. He sat back down in his art chair and picked up his drawing board once more. He looked at me.

"I thought we agreed that was only with you?" he mused, picking up a sketch pencil and beginning to draw.

I sighed heavily. "Any humans as well."

"What are you guys talking a-"

"Hold still." Rylan interrupted Elly. I almost resisted smirking when she instantly shut up and blushed again.

I was pretty sure they were safe. He hadn't told her to undress or anything of the sort. As soon as I said that, I had an eerie feeling. The look on Rylan's face changed only slightly, and then he said in an amused voice, "Ellyria, lay on your side and lift your shirt up."

Elly's expression went from confused to shocked to embarrassed and I stepped forward. "Rylan!" I hissed.

"Just joking." he murmured, and Elly and I both relaxed. Anyone could have known he'd been kidding. What a pompous jerk! Pulling my leg like that. I didn't care if they got together as a couple, but biting was off limits.

I made sure to think that thought directly towards Rylan so he'd hear the unspoken words quite clearly. Then I turned and headed back down to the living room to visit with Claude.

When I did so, the front door was just opening and closing, and Brent walked in, followed by Tiffany. I stopped by the loveseat that Cassy was sitting on and we both watched the couple.

Tiffany's face was pale, and she looked from Cassy to me and then smiled weakly. Brent looked joyful, but it was obvious he was hiding it for his girlfriend's sake.

"Hey, Tiff." I greeted, giving a wave. She waved back and ran a hand through her hair.

"So um, vampires, huh?" she asked. Ah, so I had been correct: Brent _had_ told his girlfriend about us. Cassidy looked up at me and I looked down at her. As if mutually, despite our disagreements for each other, we both raised our eyebrows and then looked back at Tiffany.

"_Daywalker's_." Cassy and I corrected Tiffany in unison. Claude's snort of laughter came from the kitchen just as Tiffany fainted in Brent's arms.

* * *

A/N: I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER. That was very terrible of me and I apologize so, so, SOOOO much. I've been swimming a lot lately because it's been just so damn hot out! 106 degrees! And we have no air conditioning in our house, so I've been pretty cranky and tired lately. I tried my best with this chapter, so tell me what you think! You're allowed to throw knives at me for taking so long. Just make sure they're fake knives. ^^;;


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

_The First Date Is A Tad Awry_

"Oh dear lord. I guess that didn't go exactly as planned." Cassy mumbled, going back to reading her book. Brent huffed and lifted Tiffany's unconscious body into his arms.

"It actually went _better _than planned, mother." he retorted, irritated. He headed toward the staircase before Cassy could say anything else. I followed him up the stairs to his room and opened his door for him.

"How did she take it before?" I asked, leaning against his doorframe as he laid Tiffany on his bed and quietly took off her shoes.

"Well, she didn't scream." He muttered, setting her tennis shoes on the floor and turning to look at me with a small smile. "She was quiet, really quiet. Which worried me a bit, actually."

"She'll be fine, I'm sure. You never know, she may even want to become one of us." I said, shrugging my shoulders. Brent's face went grave and he shook his head.

"She has a very caring, loving family. I don't want to take that away from her." He looked away from me and at the blankets, then gently took Tiffany's hand in his. "I'll stay with her until she gets old. I'll mourn for her when she dies, and then I'll simply be forced to move on."

I never knew such words could be so touching. I stood there, contemplating whether I should leave to give them privacy or stay longer. I went with the former, and backed out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind me. Once outside his room, I let out a long sigh I had been holding. I really wondered what it felt like to be loved like that.

"Ava?" Lukas's voice came from the top of the staircase down the hall. I walked toward him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Have you heard from Alec?" He asked, his brows furrowed.

Come to think of it, Alec was the only Darquecaster who wasn't here. Also, I hadn't quite heard from Max either. Usually he'd have texted me by now, ex or friend-wise. I shook my head. "No. Any idea where he may be?"

"GPS tracking comes in handy." Lukas offered, raising said object. I snorted a laugh and nodded.

"Alright, let's go find him." I said, trotting down the stairs with him. It gave us something to do, after all.

We ended up taking Lukas's car of course. He'd had the scratch I'd made to his car fixed and I felt guilty about it for a moment as he pulled out of the garage.

"It says he's in Denny's. Huh, what a weird place for him to be." Lukas mumbled in slight confusion. He drove out of the driveway and when we were on the road, glanced out of the corner of his eye at me.

"So, uh, you and Alec, right?"

At first I didn't understand what the hell he meant, but then it comprehended when I realized he sounded morose. I glanced at him with a calm expression. "Not yet." I said honestly. "I'm not even sure if I feel that way about him. But what Elly said is bothering me, so I'm just going to try it out."

"Try it out, huh?" Lukas chuckled. "You realize you have other, more important things to think about then 'trying out' Alec, right?"

"Like my family and friends being mortal?" I grunted, looking out the window at the trees passing by. I know the real reason Lukas wanted to get us out of the house. Because everyone at the house was basically a couple. I was pretty sure he was just avoiding awkward talk right now.

"Yeah. Did Alec even give you the chance to think about that before he changed you?"

"Not exactly. But I was in the middle of dying, so I can't really blame him."

"Hm." Was Lukas's reply. Then the car went silent again. After a few minutes, I nonchalantly looked at his speedometer to see him only going 80 MPH on the empty road. I snorted.

"You can go a little faster. Not like we'll die if we get into a car wreck." I mumbled. I heard Lukas snicker and press harder on the gas.

"I remember why I liked you so much."

"And why you tried forcing me into several things?"

He put a hand to his heart in mock hurt. "That wounds me. I would never have gone further against your will." he said almost honestly. _Almost_.

He was now going 110 MPH. "So you've finally given up on me?" I asked slowly.

"I've thought about it." Lukas replied. "After all, if Alec feels the same way about you, then obviously I'm no match whatsoever."

I thought a moment. "You know, he said something to me earlier, and I have a feeling I should ask you what it means."

"Oh?"

"After school today, he'd told me, _I changed you so we could be together longer_, or something like that. Do you think he was being honest?"

Lukas waited a long moment to reply, staring hard at the road. "Alec has never lied once in his life. At least, that's what of I'm sure of."

I couldn't help but wince. If he hadn't lied, then obviously all those times he insulted me had been true. My eye twitched. What. An. Asshole.

"But anyway," Lukas changed the subject, slowing the car down as we made it into town. Denny's was around the corner. "I think you have more to worry about right now than lies and truth."

"What do you mean this time?" I asked as we pulled into the parking lot of Denny's. Lukas pointed past his windshield as we parked next to the doors. I followed his finger with my eyes to a window. Beyond the window was the table, and sitting at the table was none other than Alec.

And across him sat Max.

I unbuckled my seatbelt faster than my mind could catch up, and was out the door in a second. "Ava!" Lukas called after me, getting out of the car. I slowed down for the sake of humans, and entered Denny's. One of the pretty, dainty blonde female workers smiled at me.

"Just one?" She paused then looked behind me at Lukas. "Or two?"

"None." I replied, walking past her to Alec's and Max's table. Lukas stayed behind to chat with the female. I guess he ended up taking a table for one. Ignoring them, I turned my glare on the two boys who were now staring at me in surprise.

"What brings you here?" Alec asked me nonchalantly, tipping back in his seat. I looked at Max, ignoring Alec's' question.

"Did he hurt you? Threaten you in any way?" I asked quickly.

Max gave me a smile and made to reply, but Alec snorted. "No, of course not. We're _buddies _now."

I stifled a laugh with my hand. "Buddies?" I laughed, turning on Alec. "I swear, if you threatened him in any way…"

"He didn't." Max said calmly.

I blinked. "Huh?"

Alec leaned forward in his seat and Max raised a hand. They shook hands in front of me and then Max stood, pulling car keys out of his pocket and swinging them around his finger. Wait, car keys?

"Well, it was nice meeting with you. I'll be off now. See ya, Ava." Max waved bye as he walked past us and out of Denny's. I stared out the window at Max as he climbed into a pretty little Honda and drove off.

"Max…is driving?" I asked faintly.

"He is also your ex-boyfriend and my new friend. Err, _acquaintance_." Alec corrected smoothly, taking a small sip of the soda that I'm sure Max had ordered for him.

I sat down wearily across from him in the booth. "This is all really strange." I stated quietly.

"You're telling me." Alec replied. A long silence stretched between us. I could hear the other people in the restaurant speaking, even though they were across the room. I could smell the food strongly being baked and cooked in the kitchens beyond the counter. Strange indeed. Everything was strange right now. It was if turning into a daywalker had brought me to a whole new world.

"Excuse me, miss?" A small voice asked. I looked up and the same blonde that had greeted me when I rushed in was standing there with a notepad and a pen. "Would you like anything…?"

"Uh, n-" My shin was kicked from underneath the table. I resisted slapping Alec and instead corrected myself and said, "Yes, actually. Can I get a rootbeer and a small slice of…apple pie?"

Wow. Why did all of that suddenly sound disgusting to me? The girl smiled-her nametag read, _Julie_- and then looked expectantly at Alec.

He blinked. "Nothing for me. This soda is just f-"

I kicked him.

"Can I try some of that apple pie, as well?"

"Of course! It'll be coming right up soon." she jot down our orders and then smiled once more at Alec and batted her lashes. For a second, I was afraid she wasn't going to leave the table. I had an odd sense that I was a tad jealous.

"Julie~!" Lukas called from across the restaurant. Julie seemed to snap out of her daze and then turned and practically raced over to the other vampire. With her out of the way, I raised an eyebrow at Alec. He had an unhappy grimace on his face.

"Was it necessary to kick me?" He demanded.

"Was it necessary to kick _me_?"

"We need to get blood as soon as we eat." He muttered to me, as if changing the subject. I smiled and nodded.

"I just hope I wont throw it all up. It already _sounds _awful to me. And I used to love rootbeer and apple pie!" I exclaimed.

Alec suddenly leaned forward on his elbows and a small smirk graced his handsome face. "You do realize this is our first date, right?"

"No shit, Sherlock." I groaned, and then let my head fall onto the table in embarrassment.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

_To Kiss and Thirst_

Oh, it was _awful_. Every portion that went into my mouth tasted like dry, stale bread. I couldn't taste the sweetness of the once-delicious apples and sugary goodness. I sighed and set my fork down. Alec seemed to be picking wearily through his own slice of pie.

I snuck a peek at his face. He was staring down at his plate in boredom. We hadn't talked since I had called him Sherlock, about fifteen minutes ago. Instead, I figured _both _of us were listening in on the other conversations brewing in the restaurant.

Lukas's by far was the most interesting. Every other moment he'd call Julie over and talk flirtatiously with her. She too obviously had fallen under the vampire charm. I shot him a look across the floor and he seemed to sense my warning glare. He smiled in response.

I swear, if he used Julie as a meal, I'd… I would… I… wouldn't know what I'd do. But still. Cool fingers grasped my chin and turned my head back toward their owner. Alec had an amused expression upon his countenance.

"We're on a date, dear, stop looking at other men."

"Clearly, you're joking." I spluttered, swatting his hand away.

"Maybe, but we should start talking about something, _anything_."

He was right. I looked down at my rootbeer, opting whether I should take my first sip of it or not. Also opting what the hell I should say to Alec. Perhaps Elly had been wrong? I grabbed my rootbeer and brought the straw to my mouth. Gingerly, I sipped a little bit. It didn't taste that bad. I sucked harder and got a mouthful.

Oh, why, lord? Oh why did it have to taste nasty? As I tried to swallow it and it came back out as I started coughing and choking.

"I will seriously kill you." Alec stated dryly.

I looked up at him and my eyes widened. Rootbeer had somehow made it on his t-shirt. "Uh, um, _oh_, let me get you some napkins." I quickly stood up and made my way toward the counter.

Waiting for a waitress to come by so I could get a towel or napkins or something, Lukas suddenly appeared beside me. "How's it going to stick-up-the-ass over there?" he asked. There was no need to keep his voice even a whisper. Alec was still sure to hear.

"Terrible. I ended up spitting soda all over him." I muttered. Lukas chuckled.

"I guess that's a bit more sophisticated then tackling him from across a table."

The day I had done that was so long ago, that I was surprised I remembered it. It made me wince. "Yeah…" I agreed softly.

"Did you need anything?" Julie asked me from on the other side of the counter bar. I looked up and smiled.

"Yes, napkins, please? And a lot of them."

She looked from Lukas to me and then turned and grabbed a stack of napkins from the napkin holder beyond the counter. Setting them in my hands, she sent a suspicious to Lukas. I resisted rolling my eyes.

"Don't worry, he's all yours." I assured, and then pivoted and walked back to Alec. Throwing the napkins at Alec, I sat roughly in my chair.

"Wipe me off." Alec ordered suddenly. I scowled at him. He held a napkin out to me. "You did it, you clean it."

I knocked the napkins out of his hand and stood up. "I've had it! Elly was _totally _wrong!" I hissed angrily, stomping past him and out the doors of Denny's.

"Ava!" Alec called frustratingly out. I didn't stop until I was at Lukas's car, because I realized Lukas had driven us here. Throwing my hands up exasperatedly, I turned to go back to grab Lukas's ass. However, Alec was there right when I spun on my heel. His expression was painted on his face solemnly.

"Move." I grounded out between clenched teeth.

His face hardened and his eyebrows narrowed. Without one word, he pressed me against Lukas's car and his lips landed on mine.

It knocked the wind out of me.

I could do nothing but stand there. My hands were at my sides and I was caught between the car against my rear-end and Alec pressed fully against my front. I didn't resist as Alec's tongue found its way into my mouth and touched mine. In fact, it merely sent shivers down my spine.

Alec finally pulled back, breathing a tad heavier. He looked me in the eyes and I stared right back. "I'm sorry. I have no idea how to show my affection other than like this or being a royal asshole." he murmured so quietly that I even barely heard it.

But that was probably because my blood was pounding in my ears. I felt really thirsty all of a sudden too. I swallowed the dry lump forming in my throat and ignored the burning sensation of my gums and stomach. I concentrated only on Alec.

"Why did you do that?" I whispered.

He leaned his forehead against mine. "I…want to be with you." He breathed. His breath fanned across my face and I found myself wanting to take his lips with my own.

"Elly was totally right..." I trailed off, my eyes flickering to his lips.

"Okay, lovebirds, make out on your own time. Not here in broad daylight against _my_ car."

We looked over at Lukas who was waiting patiently at the front of the hood. He raised an eyebrow. Alec pulled away from me. "Right. Ava and I will take my car back home then."

Lukas blinked. "Now hey! I just had to pay for your food! I think I have the right to take her home!"

Alec snorted. "You guys came looking for me, now you got me. Come on, Avanni." He pulled on my hand and I threw Lukas an apologetic look as I followed after. Said vampire watched us and didn't even blink. I hope I didn't upset him too much. We climbed into Alec's' car and he started it. That moment, Lukas drove past us. I didn't get a clear look at his face, but I was sure I had pissed him off.

After all, I just finished kissing Alec.

Oh my lord. I just kissed Alec. _Alec_!

Realization set in and my heart began beating crazily. This was all just too weird.

"Are you thirsty?" Alec asked as he began driving.

I shook my head. "Not yet."

"We still need to hurry back to get some blood." With that said, he pressed harder on the gas and drove around some of the slower cars. Some of them honked at us, but I smiled and looked out the window, keeping my head turned away from Alec as I blushed a bit. My fingers went up to gingerly touch my lips that were still tingling from his kiss. I had kissed Alec. Why did that sound so astounding to me?

* * *

Lukas was home before us. When we walked in, he was sitting on the couch watching TV, an annoyed look on his face. As soon as I walked in, I barged past the living room and to the stairs.

"Hey! Where are you going? Blood first!" Alec yelled after me.

"No! Elly first!" I had to check on my best friend to make sure blood was still pumping through her veins…human blood.

As I zoomed across the second floor, a door opened before my eyes followed and Tiffany walked out of Brent's room. I managed to stop just a foot from her with a surprised gasp. Tiffany squealed in shock and jumped back a few feet, a hand on her head as she looked wide-eyed at me.

"A-Ava?"

I gave her a soft smile. "Hey, Tiff. I'm really, really sorry I never told you about this before…what with your love for Brent and all…I just-" I stopped immediately when something delicious. What was that…?

My eyes zeroed in on Tiffany's neck. I felt my vision cloud a bit as her jugular vein pumped erratically under her skin. She was frightened, and a primal part of me found that it liked that, a lot… I took a step forward, and Tiffany's eyes widened.

"A-Avanni… your eyes…" she whispered. Something coiled inside of me, like a snake ready to attack. My gums tingled and I began to feel very, very thirsty.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

_Clearing Things Up…_

Tiffany let out a shocked cry as I practically hurled myself at her. I wanted to taste the liquid flowing through her veins. Blood. It was my only focus. Nothing around me, not even my peripheral vision was working. I was inches from her when suddenly powerful arms grabbed me and yanked me backwards.

"Idiot! This is why I said blood first!" Alec's voice hissed in my ear. I blinked when I recognized it, and my vision cleared up. Tiffany slid down against the wall, eyes wide and scared out of her mind. I felt guilt press into me. After all Brent did to protect her from being scared, I'd ruined it all.

I leaned back against Alec. "T-Tiffany…" I murmured.

Brent suddenly appeared beside her and leaned down to help her up. However, she flinched back from him and tears welled up in her eyes. The look on Brent's face was heartbreaking. He pulled back and looked down at her, and then to me. I was shocked to find no anger.

"I-I'm so sorry… I just… My body… I…" I stuttered horribly over my words. I'd never once found myself in such a situation before. Alec's grip on me tightened almost painfully.

"Now, if you don't mind, it's time to head to the fridge." He said coldly, and then released me for only a second to grab onto my wrist and yank me after him. I watched behind us as Brent kneeled next to Tiffany and tried to speak with her again.

I turned away from the scene, too embarrassed with myself to even listen in on their conversation. "That's going to happen a lot. Next time, don't be a naïve brat and listen to what I have to say!" Alec growled under his breath towards me. We didn't stop until we were in the kitchen. He reached into the fridge and brought out two bottles of blood. He tossed one to me, and I caught it without even having to force myself to. Thus the amazing reflexes of a vampire.

I popped open the lid and took a sip. Cringing, I gulped down as much as I could without gagging. "It tastes terrible. Can't we at least heat it up?"

"Deal with it. You need to learn to live off of this, not _warm_, _fresh _human blood." Alec told me.

I looked down into my bottle at the dark red liquid. "What gave you all the idea to drink this instead of straight from the veins? I think fresh blood would taste so much better… Looking at Tiffany's veins just made me-"

Alec tilted my bottle up and shoved it into my mouth, forcing me to drink it. When I finished, I took a deep breath and set it down. I felt a lot better. "Stop thinking of stuff like that. You'll become an animal." Alec reminded me.

I huffed. "You know, you aren't so awesome yourself. That night when we had dinner with Elly-" My eyes widened. "_Elly_!" I slammed the bottle on the counter and dashed from the kitchen. Alec didn't try stopping me this time, obviously.

I felt rejuvenated after drinking the blood. When I came around the area Tiffany had been with Brent, I noticed they had disappeared somewhere. Probably to Brent's room. I just hope Tiffany forgave me for that. I'd have to talk to her later.

I made it to Rylan's room and shoved it open. What I saw made me freeze in my tracks.

"Elly?" I whispered.

She was laying in the middle of the bed, asleep, snoring softly and completely clothed. Rylan was still sketching. He was now looking at me expectantly. "Yes?" he asked in an equally quiet tone.

I blinked a few times. "I-is she…okay? You didn't bite her, did you?" I hissed softly, walking into the room. I went to the bedside and studied Elly's neck and wrists for any marks. Nada. She still smelled human as well. It was an earthly smell, coated with a sweet scent of roses. Funny, Elly never used rose perfume.

Come to think of it, Tiffany had this vanilla scent to her. Had she ever used vanilla extract smells before? I couldn't remember for the life of me.

"As a vampire, you can smell a humans natural scent." Rylan answered my pondering.

I glanced back at him with an eyebrow raised. He set aside his sketch pad and stood up, stretching his legs. He paced towards me and before I could step back, leaned down so that his mouth was next to my ear.

"You smelled exquisite as a human. Pity you have no scent now." I felt his breath fan across my neck and ear, and suddenly flashbacks of the pleasant feeling of when he bit me came rushing back and I felt dizzy.

"Get away from her." Lukas's voice echoed sternly through the room. At that moment, Elly groaned and Rylan stepped back.

Elly sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "Rylan, are you finished y-" She looked at me and then Lukas in surprise. "Wow, I must have slept the whole day away. I better get home soon." She stood and wrapped me in a large hug. "I'll see you at school tomorrow. Bye Rylan! If you need me to pose again, just call me."

Then she disappeared from the room. I suddenly felt very, very unsafe in this room. Lukas at the door and Rylan behind me. Clearing my throat, I stalked toward the door, and then paused long enough to look back at Rylan. "What did I smell like?" I asked hesitantly. This earned a small, barely noticeable smirk on Rylan's face.

"Something rebellious."

His answer honestly confused me. Lukas led me from the room with a motion of his hand. After we left and Rylan's door shut behind us, I raised an eyebrow to Lukas. He shook his head. "I don't trust him even though he's my brother." he mumbled.

"What _did_ I smell like as a human?" I asked unsurely. Did I want to know the answer? He said I had smelt exquisite. That was a great thing, correct?

"Honeysuckles." Was Lukas's answer.

I snorted a laugh. "What the hell? You're kidding, right? Haha!" I almost couldn't stop laughing. I was glad I could multitask and walk at the same time.

Suddenly my arm was grabbed and I was shoved into the nearest wall, right at the top of the staircase. I let out a whoosh of breath and looked at Lukas in surprise. Never had he been so forceful.

He leaned down so that our lips were inches apart and said softly, "Honeysuckles cannot be tamed. They are better off in the wild. The scent of them are overbearing and delicious. I always wondered what biting into your flesh would taste like. Would your blood taste like the nectar created from each flower?" he leaned closer as he spoke, and I narrowed my eyes when he finished.

Yanking a hand back, I slapped him across the face. "Don't try pulling moves on me anymore." I stated calmly, though my voice was shaking from being so close to him. I wanted Alec, not Lukas. He looked shocked, and even I was surprised when a dark red mark began forming in the shape of my hand upon his cheek. But then again, strength was one of the several things that being a vampire had going for you.

And I had yet to control it.

Turning on my heel, I went down the stairs, leaving Lukas behind me to revel in my rejection. I found Alec speaking to Claude and Cassy in the living room. When I entered, they looked up at me and Alec raised an eyebrow.

"Spending some time with Lukas?" he mused, though his face showed no amusement.

"What?" Could they hear us all the way from upstairs and around the corner? Not even I could hear that proficiently!

"I can smell Lukas on you." Alec said, irritated. Claude coughed into his hand, but honestly it sounded more like a stifled laugh turned into a fake cough. Cassy continued reading her book.

I didn't want to tattle on Lukas. Instead, I stuck my nose in the air. "We hugged." It was a bad, terrible lie and I was sure he could see right through it. Alec stood and dismissed himself from his parents' conversation. Then he walked straight toward me and I saw a predatory gleam in his eye. Just when I thought it was all over for me, his hands cupped my cheeks and he kissed me so passionately it almost knocked me over.

I sensed Lukas in the room all of a sudden. He was behind me at the edge of the staircase. Ah, so Alec kissed me to show possession. Well, if that was the case…

I wrapped my arms around his waist, and was shocked to find he had muscles in all the right places. Something stirred deep within me, a hunger so unbearable it scared me. It wasn't a thirst for blood, but for Alec himself. After a moment of our tongues battling for dominance, Cassy cleared her throat.

"I can hear the lovemaking already beginning." she droned in a bored voice. Claude covered his mouth again to stifle a laugh/cough. I pulled away, feeling my face heat up. Alec smirked down at me, and then looked past me grimly to his twin brother. I felt searing angry eyes piercing into me from behind.

Oh great, I suddenly found myself trapped between two vampires who wanted me.

Lucky thing I was a vampire too. That meant a quick escape. "Well, it's getting late, so I'm going to take a shower and go to bed!" I said quickly, and practically flew across the room to the staircase. Passing Lukas in a blur, I left them both behind me to do whatever brothers did when they found that they both liked the same girl.

* * *

It was halfway through the night of my troublesome sleep that I heard them.

And let me tell you, it was probably one of the most disturbing things I'd heard practically my whole life. Tiffany had spent the night, and honestly I was surprised she had the audacity to do so, even though I had almost attacked her. But that wasn't the subject here; it was the fact I could hear Tiffany's moans from all the way down the hall.

Not only that, but the bed was creaking too.

I groaned and covered my face with my pillow in attempt to close out the sounds of sex. Brent couldn't have chosen to go to a hotel or something? Really? A house full of people! Err…

Vampires.

But, that didn't change anything. Especially since the girl you're making love to is a human! Then again, I had no right to speak, since I'd been so close to having sex with Rylan and-

_Oh man. I'm getting annoyed with myself for thinking about that_. Turning over onto my side, I shut my eyes tightly and kept a firm hold on the pillow.

When I woke up again, it was to my annoying alarm clock. With a heavy sigh, I reached over and ripped the cord out of the wall. Obviously waking up to that every morning was going to annoy me since I already had a burning in my stomach and an ache in my gums. _That_ was going to get real annoying, real fast as well.

Sitting up, I stretched and yawned, curiously poking my finger into my mouth to touch my tingling teeth and aching gums. Sure enough, my canines were steadily growing sharper at my hunger. I wondered if it would be like this every morning.

Standing, I went to my dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a tank top. The weather was still warm from the near end of summer.

I paused and then glanced at the calendar plastered to the wall. In about half a month my birthday was going to happen. I was going to be eighteen. I blinked. Vampires never aged, did they? Not even a bit? Sighing as I dressed into my day clothes, I pondered over what I'd look like in 50 years, and what my friends and family would also look like.

A knock sounded at my door, knocking me out of my thoughts. I turned after zipping and buttoning my jeans, and opened my door. Claude stood there, smiling. "Ready for _breakfast_?"

I stared for a moment and Claude motioned to my mouth. I offered a small smile. "Yep." Then I followed him down the stairs, only to be greeted by _everybody_ in the kitchen. That including Tiffany.

I blushed immediately when I remembered hers and Brent's previous actions in his room. "Ava!" she greeted, and I looked away from her, putting a hang up.

"Blood first." I said. My voice was a tad scratchy. I was thankful there were a bunch of vamps in this room at the moment. Claude handed me a bottle and I gladly accepted the cool blood inside.

After I downed it in two gulps, I looked at her. She had a smile on her face and she didn't look pale anymore. In fact, she was glowing. Oh goodness. They say sex made you glow with happiness and beauty.

Or maybe… I quickly went to her and smelled her. She still smelled human. Sighing with relief, I pulled back. Brent stood beside her and raised an eyebrow at me.

"So you guys aren't mad at me?" I asked quietly.

"Of course not. Vampire or not, you're still Avanni Maddox." Tiffany pulled me into a large embrace and I smiled and returned it. After a moment, I pulled away and crinkled my nose.

"Do you think that next time you guys do things-" I began.

"-then perhaps keep it down a bit? I was up half the night." Cassy finished my sentence in bitterness. We looked at each other in slight surprise. We seemed to be having the same thoughts recently. Hm, weird.

Brent instantly read our minds anyways, so he understood what we said. He chuckled, and Tiffany finally got it and blushed ten shades of red.

"Well, it's time to go, so let's head to school Ava." Alec interrupted the awkward moment, draping an arm over my shoulders. The simple movement was okay, but it surprised me. Did Alec suddenly just change over night or-

Lukas snorted. I glanced warily at him. He was glaring daggers at Alec, and vise versa. It was then I realized it was a fight over who owned me. Oh, nuh-uh. This was not going well. Why did it have to be _me_ all of a sudden?

"I will drive Ava." Rylan spoke icily, and before I could admonish him, he'd grabbed my wrist and yanked me from Alec's grasp and towards the front door. Apart of me was thankful that he'd saved me from having to choose who to drive with. The other part of me was screaming, _RAPE!_

Nevertheless, when I climbed gingerly into the passengers seat, Rylan made no move to touch me. Instead, he started the car and drove out of the driveway, just as the others were walking out of the house.

"Thanks." I muttered.

"It was getting bothersome. You understand they have never acted that way towards each other, correct?" He demanded, quite annoyed, I was sure.

I examined the side of his face for a moment. "So basically I'm tearing them apart from their twin-ness?"

Rylan shot me a look from the corner of his eyes, but didn't reply. I felt guilty for a moment.

"I like Alec." I murmured quietly.

Again, no response. The car was silent. I wondered if Rylan didn't enjoy the radio. I wasn't about to find out for fear of getting my hand chopped off by his irritated icy gaze. If only looks could kill.

"So, there's gotta be something between you and Elly, am I right?" I asked after a few more minutes of eerie silence.

"She is a reckless, naive human. I am not interested in such a being."

"I'm reckless and you sure showed interest in me when you bit me." I whispered under my breath.

Rylan slammed on the breaks and pulled off to the side of the road. It was only a matter of seconds before the others came driving around the corner. I looked at Rylan in confusion.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to me, his green eyes gleaming dangerously. "You make is sound as if you wish to be bit again."

I shakily shook my head no. Rylan looked at me dead in the eyes and then his eyes trailed down my face until it stopped on my neck. Then he pulled back and re-buckled his seatbelt, shaking his head.

"You would not taste nearly as delectable now."

We managed to start driving just as Alec's' car came up behind us. I had a feeling the others were in that car as well. I just hoped Lukas and Alec weren't at each other's throats. I tried not to let my mind wander too far since I was in the car with a mind reader.

"Why do you allow Lukas to treat you like an object?" Rylan suddenly asked.

I looked at him in surprise. "I don't mean to. Obviously he doesn't comprehend that fact that I want to be with Alec."

"You just admitted you wanted to be with the guy that ruined your life."

I sighed heavily. "I was just being over dramatic."

Rylan let out a sarcastic, mocking sigh after me. "Oh, teenage drama!"

Shooting him an annoyed look, I looked out the window. "Thanks for getting me out of that kitchen in time. I thought I'd be torn between the two on who would take me to school or not."

"Until you clear that up with Lukas, it will happen." Rylan said. Those were his last words as we drove.

Even though he spoke less than his family, I felt connected to him socially. I was connected to Alec mentally and physically, but I had a feeling we wouldn't have the powerful ability to socially connect, especially if he could only show his love for me through touching.

When we arrived at school, I managed to make it to my locker and meet up with Elly and Max before the other Darquecaster's found me. It was another boring day of school, but I vowed when I got back home, I'd definitely clear things up with Lukas.

* * *

A/N: CHECK OUT THE POLL ON MY PROFILE! You as my reviewers can vote on who you'd like to see end up with Ava. If the count exceeds expectation, then I may just pair them up!


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: OHHHHH MYYYYY GOSHHH. I don't even have the right to apologize to any of you. -bows lowly- I shall plead for all of my reviewer's' forgiveness. SO, PLEASE FORGIVE ME! :(**

**Since it's been the summer and all lately, I've been going out a lot to the river and pools and with family and friends and whatnot. Then, when I usually arrived home, I was braindead and tired. Finally, after being VIOLENTLY urged on (violently is an exaggeration by just a **_**bit**_**) to type another chapter forcefully by my **_**lazy and fruitless **_**editor ( ^^;; ) and close friend, I have decided to try my hardest to give you another chapter. My deepest regret to all of you. I apologize. A LOT.**

**I am, however, pretty sure I should be updating a lot more when school starts. I can focus on my homework and chores AS SOON as I get home, get a snack and get working RIGHT AWAY on another chapter. So, anyways, I had better stop this author's note before it becomes a chapter in its entirety… therefore, here is the next chapter of **_**Rebel**_**. I sincerely hope it's okay! -bows again-**

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…_I vowed when I got back home, I'd definitely clear things up with Lukas._

I had thought those words over and over again throughout the day, but as I sat in the passenger's seat with Rylan beside me driving, my hands were shaking. Just what was I going to say to him?

"_Sorry Lukas, I no longer have any interest in you, and I'd like to try it out with Alec."_

Try it out with Alec? I blinked and stared blankly ahead of me. What the hell was that? That wouldn't show that I had any determination toward a relationship. So of course, Lukas would reply in his usual playboy way:

"_I'm much more experienced than him. Please think it over, better yet, let me rape you right here and right now."_

I snorted. No, no, he wouldn't rape me. That's what Rylan would do. When I heard a low snicker from beside me, I looked over at said vampire. Ah, that was right, he could climb into my mind. Damn bloodsucker.

"I really hope that won't be your conversation with him when the time comes. That will definitely disappoint both Alec and I." Rylan said smoothly, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

I clenched my nervous fists. "Of course not! I'm still thinking! Now shut your trap and allow me to do so in peace!" When he went quiet and focused back on the road, I looked ahead again to peer at the sky.

What could I say that would throw Lukas off? No matter how hard I tried, the possibilities I came up with were ludicrous. Of course, Lukas would be able to find a way around it easily. Burying my face into my palms, I groaned loudly. Still, Rylan did not comment. Although, he did suddenly talk about something.

"Perhaps you can initiate a kiss?"

I froze, my mind reeling in three different directions. Then I slowly looked up at the other vampire. "Huh?"

Rylan's eyebrows furrowed in irritation. That was Rylan. Whenever he were to be annoyed, he'd show it, but in different ways. It was really opposite of Alec. "I mean, in front of Lukas with Alec in the same room, admit your feelings _to_ Alec and then kiss him. This may show Lukas that nothing can come between the two of you."

Blinking slowly, I tried thinking of the outcome of that situation. I found nothing. Did that mean it may work? If only, _if only_ I could get into Lukas's head! Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

I slowly looked up at Rylan, a sly smile on my face. I leaned over and gripped his sweater sleeve. "Rylaaaaaan?" I began in a sing-song voice. He made no move to look at me. His face was expressionless, and he turned the wheel slightly. I felt the bump of dirt and rocks, meaning we were getting closer to the Darquecaster mansion. I leaned closer to the vampire, anxious for help.

"Absolutely not."

My heart fell. "Why not?" I cried. "I let you suck my blood and almost kill me!"

Rylan parked the car, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw their house. He looked at me with his sharp, scary green eyes. "And I've compensated that by keeping my fangs to myself with Elly, did I not?"

I gritted my teeth. Damn, this guy was good. I huffed. "Fine!" Then I unlocked the door and shoved it open. As I did, Alec's car drove up behind us. The others were in there.

I took in a deep breath and turned to face the car as they climbed out. "Lukas, Alec, we need to talk."

They both looked at each other in confusion, and then shrugged. Now how the hell was I supposed to pull this off?

* * *

"Sorry Lukas, I no longer have any interest in you, and I'd like to try it out with Alec."

Oh, my God. I cannot believe I said that! I slapped a hand on my forehead and groaned. Lukas, who was sitting across from me, blinked. That was the reaction I had had when I even thought of the words.

Alec, who was sitting in the armchair between our couches to the side, snorted. Ha, that was the other reaction I had had. What a coincidence!

"Is that really it? Just _try things out_ with me?" Alec demanded, obviously frustrated and probably deeply angry with me. Obviously it hurt to be told that, didn't it?

I didn't dare look at him. Patiently, I ignored him and waited for Lukas's response.

"Alright, I'll let you go if you can admit that you love Alec and then kiss him right here." Lukas suddenly said after a long moment of silence. My head shot up and I looked at him with wide-eyes. Say what?

"Right here?" I asked weakly.

Lukas nodded. "Yep."

"Right…_now_?"

It was Alec who spoke this time. "Obviously she isn't serious." He then stood up abruptly, turning his head to face away from me when I looked up. It only half occurred to me what he said.

Lukas and I watched him go. Then I realized he'd meant I wasn't serious about liking him. I shot to my feet. "Wait! Alec! I-"

He looked back at me, and his expression froze me and my words caught in the back of my throat. If there was ever a moment Alec had hid his pain, it was now being let out…and through facial appearance much less. His eyes were now a dark blue, his pupils dilated halfway, and his mouth was pulled taut into a thin, straight line. The way his eyebrows were creased together, it was obvious he was thinking hard. My breath left me with a whoosh, and he turned away again to leave the room. I didn't move until I heard the front door open and slam close.

Shakily, I sat down and grabbed my head with my hands and squeezed my eyes shut. "What have I done?"

"You're just going to sit there and sulk?" Lukas asked. I threw him an icy glare.

"What else am I going to do?" I snapped. Lukas didn't seem affected by my terrible mood.

"I figured you'd go after him."

"Go after him and then what? Be shamelessly insulted? Just what I want to experience!" I bit sarcastically. The male vampire raised an eyebrow.

"You're pretty vicious when you're angry. So is he. If he insults you, insult him back. Isn't that what you've always done up until now? You used to hate even the _idea_ of Alec Darquecaster." Lukas paused, letting everything sink in. Then he bent forward to place his elbows on his knees and rest his chin against his knuckles. Staring me deep in the eyes with his midnight colored ones, he then said, "If you're really the rebellious Ava that I and everyone else knows, you'd defy your ego and go throw some of your own words against his insults. Then, when you think you both no longer have any insults, admit your _true_ feelings and get the damn kiss done and over with."

I couldn't help but stare in shock at Lukas. Was this even _Lukas_? Never before had I ever heard such intelligent words coming from his mouth. Had he ever been so serious like this before? And since when did he support mine and Alec's' relationship?

Lukas smirked and leaned back. "You're probably wondering where I suddenly came up with that advice, huh?"

I stood up slowly. "Actually, at the moment, I don't really care. I'm going to go after him." Turning, I raced after Alec. I just hoped I could convey my true feelings. I felt my heart pounding. I wanted to be with that asshole. I didn't care if he couldn't show his feelings for me mentally, because I'd never been quite the person to open up my own feelings either.

I exited the house, only to see Alec's' car _gone_. I stopped halfway through the threshold of the front door and stared in shock. Where had he gone to?

"He couldn't have gone far. Chase after him." Rylan's voice said behind me. I turned, and narrowly caught the keys he tossed at me. I would have missed them if it weren't for my new reflexes. I stared past the keys in my hand at Rylan. "Take my car. With your old habits, you can catch up to him easily."

I smiled and nodded, pivoting on my heel. "Thanks! I'll try to return your car in one piece!"

"I have insurance." He reassured me. I felt a rush of relief flood through me. I just hoped my skills hadn't washed away as a cop escapee. After all, if it hadn't been for my foster father, Joshua, then I wouldn't have avoided being arrested all those times.

And so, I entered Rylan's precious vehicle and started it without hesitation. I couldn't allow Alec to get any further. Shoving the gear into reverse, I wheeled out of the driveway, Rylan and Lukas watching after from the doorway, and made it safely on the road.

As I went into drive and pressed on the gas, my only thoughts were on finding Alec.

My speed all the way into town was over one-hundred. By the time I reached the boundaries of the town, I slowed down considerably, because it was still daylight. Cops would have a much easier time finding me. Now, I just had to hope and pray I'd find Alec's car somewhere around here. After all, what if he went somewhere else? Somewhere secretive: like back along the roads I just went on?

That thought irritated me and I feared it was true. However, I drove on, trying not to doubt anything. Other drivers honked at me when I didn't pay attention to stop signs or pedestrians as I frantically looked around for Alec. The scar on my wrist had not began tingling. He wasn't close yet.

As I turned a corner, I slammed on my breaks, just as a young girl and her mother stumbled back onto the sidewalk, staring at me as if I were a monster. I took a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. The mother flipped me off as I drove forward again.

It was when I was about to turn around and go back from where I came after nearly thirty minutes of driving around town when I felt the tiny prickle of the bite scar. Instantly, I slowed the car down, not caring if the people behind me honked.

I looked around, my vampire eyes concentrating on every object, looking for Alec's' car. I spotted it, parked beside a small, antique-looking shop. Instantly, I parked in front of him, and realized he wasn't inside the car. Where the hell was he then? My eyes landed on the shop. It wasn't much bigger than an ice cream parlor, but what caught my eyes were the words written in giant, dazzling gold letters above the door;

_Golden Jeweler's._

Well, it was cheesy, but from what I could see from the window, the jewelry was gorgeous. I paused a moment, suddenly wondering if I was looking at the wrong store. I could wait for Alec to get back to his car, but then I'd be sitting here bored. Sighing, I shut off Rylan's car, climbed out and then locked it.

Looking both ways up and down the sidewalk to make sure no one from school was witnessing this, I swiftly made it into the jewelry store. That was when I came face to face to Alec, who looked at me in pure surprise.

I too, looked right back at him with the same expression.

No. Way.

He'd been in this store too? Had we both just been caught in a guilty act?

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. The others inside the store peeked around jewelry racks and counters with an odd expression. I was sure if Alec ever blushed, he would, but instead, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you doing here?"

I snorted, holding in tears and then sucked in a large breath. Standing straight, I smirked at him. "I should be asking you that same question." I retorted. Alec crossed his arms defiantly. I heard a shuffle of something, and my gaze dropped to his hand. He was holding a small, black and silver decorated bag that was tied at the top with a silver ribbon.

I raised an eyebrow. "Alec buying jewelry for a girl? No way. I better spread the news!" I pivoted as fast as I could without showing off my vampire speed to the humans, and took off to Rylan's car. 'Spreading the word' was just an excuse. Actually, I clenched the keys tightly in my hand as they indented my palm. Was I upset? Was I mistaking something? Misunderstanding what he bought the jewelry for?

Before I could open the door, my wrist was grabbed harshly, and I was spun around. At first, I expected him to push me against the car and kiss me. But instead, he stared long and hard at me with a very troubled expression.

"I think turning you into a vampire killed some brain cells. Were you this dense before?" He mocked. Then, right when I was about to snap back, he held out the black and silver package. "It's for you, dimwit. I figured you wouldn't accept something if it was too expensive. Plus, I couldn't imagine you wearing something like pearls or crystals, and this design was the only one I'd seen for miles around and I thought it would suit you and-"

I put a finger to his lips, staring at him in astonishment. Just _what_ had come over him? Slowly, I accepted the package, scared to see what was inside of it. Just what _design_ was he talking about? Putting all of that aside, he suddenly seemed to know me all too well. What he'd just said was true. Absolutely. Hesitantly, I met his eyes with my own.

"Are you really Alec Darquecaster?" I asked warily.

His eyebrows furrowed a bit in embarrassment. "Yes, I am. Now shut the hell up and just open it. _Better yet_, wait until I'm gone." Then he turned and climbed into his car before the shocked-out-of-my-own-mind thoughts could comprehend. I watched him leave in the car, knowing he was heading straight back home.

With a deep breath, I pulled apart the strings that tied the opening of the package together. Just what was going to be inside of it?


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N:** Ha ha, maybe I was a bit too mean to you guys with the cliff hanger. Sorry. xD

Anyways, THIS STORY IS ENDING THIS CHAPTER. Since I have finally sorted everything out between the Darquecaster's, I now have an appropriate ending. Do not fear, I should be starting a story on Liam Castillon, from my story Twisted. So for my Twisted readers, keep a look out for Liam's part in the next couple of weeks. :)

**_SEX! Good, now that I have your attention, there WILL BE A SEX SCENE at the end of this chapter. It will not be too graphic, but it is one of the reasons I safely rated this M. If you don't want to read it…..too bad. It's part of the ending of the story. xD Or you can just skip over it. :3_**

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Have you ever had the overwhelming mix of emotions with surprise, love and confusion to the point you laughed? Just now, I did. A laugh bubbled up from my throat, and I covered my mouth with a free hand. I could not believe this.

Sitting in my hand was one of the most beautiful necklaces I'd seen in a long time. It wasn't even girlish. Instead, it appeared to be half gothic if anything. The band that wrapped around the neck was a choker with a couple silver chains drooping from it, that connected to a crimson colored stone. Inside the stone looked like a misty fog. It was like something you'd see in one of those really pretty marbles. I looked at it for a long time, and everybody who past me on the sidewalk peered at me weird.

A large smile appeared on my face. Alec had the best taste. I was honestly surprised that he knew my style so well. It definitely wasn't girlish like I despised and it wasn't overdone either. My smile grew wider and I hugged the necklace to my chest. Then I turned and climbed into the car to race after my love.

I didn't see him until I got back to the mansion. His car was parked, and he was waiting for me. Definitely. I mean, if he was leaning against his car door, not bothering to go inside, that meant he was waiting…right? I parked Rylan's car and climbed out of it. The necklace was gripped in my hand, the crystal dangling. Alec looked at me for a long time as I slowly approached him.

Then I took a deep breath and launched myself at him. He caught me with a surprised "oomph" and then wrapped his arms around me. I gripped onto him tightly and smiled up at him.

"I take it you like it?" he muttered. I pulled back a moment and held the necklace up.

"Help me put it on?" I asked innocently. He took it and turned me around. I lifted my hair from my neck and he brought the choker to my throat, the silver chains cool against my skin. When I heard the soft click of him clasping the pieces together, I turned, letting my hair drop as I faced him. "I love it." I murmured.

He draped his arms around my waist and leaned his lips to mine. Just before our mouths touched, he smiled. It was a sincere, sexy smile. "I'm glad, because it looks great on you."

Then we kissed. It wasn't a fierce, passionate one, it was a gentle touch of his lips to mine. Just when I thought Alec was going to be too hard to handle, he always seemed to have a different side of himself. He would never disappoint me, I hope.

In the beginning, I'd said I was going to make his life a living hell. Then the tables had turned on me, causing me to suffer and clean house for the vampires. The punishment had gone well, though. When I thought about my rowdy past with Alec, it was almost hard to believe we actually ended up together.

"How long are you two going to stand out here?" Claude's voice asked from the front door. Alec and I broke apart and looked at him in surprise. _How long had he been standing there?_

"We were eventually going to make our way inside." Alec replied. Claude rolled his eyes and smiled.

"We've just invited a few people over for a dinner party. So hurry and get dressed into something nice. Oh, and Ava, is that a new necklace? You look great."

Alec and I shared a small smirk.

When Claude had said, "a few people", we figured two or three. Instead, much to my surprise, he invited Rory, Becca, Joshua, Elly, Max and Tiffany. I stood in front of my closet, full body mirror and brushed my hair back out of my face.

I had put on a nice pair of black jeans and a maroon colored tunic that brought out the necklace. My hair was draped around my shoulders and fully volumized. There was no make-up on my face, for I'd never been one to wear much make-up.

I had on a pair of black lace flats to compliment my black jeans. As I looked at myself a bit more, a knock sounded on my door.

"Yes?" I called.

"Your parents have arrived." Alec's voice came through the door. I practically leapt to my bedroom door and then calmly opened it. His eyes scanned me from head to toe and back up.

"How do I look?" I asked cautiously. Maybe it was too dressy for a dinner party with close friends and family? Maybe it was overdone? I wasn't sure. It made me a bit nervous for some reason. Or perhaps that was just the intense stare Alec was giving me.

"You're beautiful."

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened at Alec. "What?" I asked, making sure my ears weren't playing tricks on me.

Alec groaned and turned away from me. "Come on. Joshua and Rebecca are waiting to see their _beautiful _daughter." He mumbled underneath his breath. A brilliant smile crossed my face to the point it hurt my cheeks. I latched onto the arm Alec suddenly held out to me, and we walked together down the stairs to the dinner party.

It was a lot more enjoyable being able to party with humans who knew we were vampires. We didn't need to hide our blood drinks or pretend we were humans. The best part about that was the fact we loved the humans in our house so dearly, we never wanted to let them go. However, each of them had already made up their minds they wanted to remain humans.

I believe Brent was the one who was most hurt. Though he didn't show it, I knew really well he loved Tiffany from the bottom of his heart. Tiffany had made her decision and it was final. She wanted to live her life until she was old, have children and grandchildren, be with her family, and so on and so forth.

Vampires, no matter nightwalker or daywalker, could not have children. It was something even I knew without having to ask. I could feel it deep inside my stomach. If I was wrong, then I'll be damned.

Time flew by quickly. We ate dinner, with a few servings of blood on the side, and then played some card games, followed by a new movie. After the movie, we all had some of the delicious cake that Becca had baked for the desert.

As we all sat at the table eating our desert, Elly leaned across and fiddled with my necklace. "So, Alec bought you this?" she asked, blinking innocently up at me.

"Yeah." I replied, a smile slowly making its way onto my face. I couldn't hide my happiness. After all, when was the last time someone actually bought me something this precious when it wasn't a special occasion? _Ages ago_. Since before I lived with my vile father. Thinking about him ruined my mood though, so I quickly shoved his face out of my mind.

"I figured he'd buy you an engagement ring or something like that." Elly sighed, sitting back in her chair.

Joshua choked on his drink, quickly muffling his coughing with his napkin. I almost wanted to blush in embarrassment. Becca smirked at her husband, and Cassy and Claude shared a look. Rory chuckled along with Brent and Tiffany. Lukas looked down at his cake suddenly. Everybody else went quiet.

I chanced a look at Alec. He was watching me intently with his light blue eyes. "Would you have preferred a ring, like Ellyria said?" Alec asked.

"Uh…I… Don't you think that would be a bit…"

"Soon?" Max finished for me. Alec shot him a look, but I snickered.

"Yeah, just a bit." I agreed. Alec sat back in his chair.

"We still have centuries ahead of us to live. Why bother getting engaged now?" He mused, raising an eyebrow.

Joshua let out a huge, relieved sigh that had the rest of us laughing.

* * *

Later that night, I trudged to my room after drinking nearly a liter of blood after desert and saying goodbye to everybody who had visited. I walked into my room, leaning against the doorframe and smiling to nobody and about nothing. I never thought a vampire story could be so happy in the end.

After being a rebel practically half my life, I'd seen and done things that normal people hadn't. Luck had been on my side of course, in the name of my friends. I was difficult to put up with and pretty damn stubborn. I hated authority over anything. That was why I figured being a vampire would definitely work out for me.

There were so many things I looked forward to doing the rest of my long, everlasting life. I could probably break more laws and get away with it easy!

Smirking to myself, I shook my head. Nah, I was no longer a rebel. I was a conformist. A _vampire conformist_.

* * *

**_OCTOBER 25_**

"_Happy birthday_!" Was the screaming welcome that I got thrown in my face when I walked through the Darquecaster doors. Alec tightened his grip on my hand, causing me to look at him through my wide, shocked eyes. He smiled sincerely at me.

"Happy birthday." He whispered to me, kissing my cheek.

Hngh, no wonder everyone had been acting strange. We all knew it had been my birthday, yet from this morning, nobody but Alec and spoken a word to me. I thought they had forgotten, but didn't this kind of thing only happen in movies?

I faced my family and friends who were holding gifts and confetti and the works in front of me, and rolled my eyes. "You guys are terrible planners." I told them. Elly let out a laugh and wrapped an arm around me.

"Oh c'mon! You are now eighteen years old in human years!" she giggled.

"And half a month in vampire years." Rylan offered from the sidelines. I snorted.

"Thanks for making me sound like a baby."

"No problem."

"Anyways, we didn't know what you wanted for your birthday, so we kind of went all-out." Becca said from her place beside Joshua and Cassy.

"I can see that." I mumbled, looking at the living room covered in gifts. The party was just beginning, and I had a feeling I was going to get one hell of a headache.

And of course, they'd bought me everything from stuffed animals -thanks to Elly- to all the electronic works -thanks to Tiffany and the others- and then some. Music was playing softly on Lukas's speakers that he had brought from his room. Of course, we didn't turn them up too loud, though Max really wanted to.

Honestly, when I looked back on how I became a vampire, I never would have thought I would have survived to become eighteen. After all, Jakobi had been pretty intent on killing me.

Before we could all head to get some party cake, the doorbell rang. Claude set down his blood glass. "There's Rory!" He called. I sighed in relief. I'm so glad she came. Everybody else had, so I was wondering if she was even going to show up.

I opened the door, Alec and Elly behind me, and came face to face with a giant box with holes in it and a giant, pink bow on top. Blinking, I looked behind the box. A man was carrying it.

"Uh…" A man? When did Rory become a man?

"Ah, sorry about that dear!" Rory's voice came out of no where, and I saw her come up behind the man who I could barely see over the box. She wriggled between the doorframe and the box and hugged me. "I tried getting you the best birthday present, but first, I want to introduce someone new, who is also a vampire. A daywalker, have no fear."

I stepped back so they could walk in. Claude and Cassy and everybody else came into the living room as the unfamiliar man and Rory stepped in.

Claude's face brightened considerably when the man set the box down gently on the coffee table. "Zackary!"

"Long time no speak, old friend." The man called Zackary spoke. I walked around the coffee table to get a better look at him. He had short, buzzed hair and a clean-cut, square face. He was handsome, in an older sort of way like Claude. His eyes were deep brown like his hair.

Rory clapped her hands together. "To everyone who doesn't know him," she turned to me with a brilliant smile on her face, "this is my husband, Zackary."

My jaw dropped. "You had a husband and you didn't even tell me?" I gasped.

Rory giggled. "He was supposed to be a secret. He just came back from the war. Zack, this is my favorite person of all time, Avanni Maddox. She prefers Ava."

I smiled and shook hands with him. He gave me a nice smile in return. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the girl Rory talks about constantly. I prefer Zack."

"It's nice to meet you too, even though I haven't heard a word about you at all." I shot Rory a look with a raised eyebrow and she smiled a toothy smile in apology.

"Anyways! Open the gift now!" Rory urged.

"Okay, okay! Hold your horses woman." I mumbled, taking off the bow and tape on the top. Then, slowly opening the box, I saw a big black fur-ball wrapped up on a big, white, puffy blanket. "A kitten?"

When I spoke, a tiny, triangular ear flickered and it looked up at me with big, bright blue eyes. My jaw dropped. "Oh. My. God." I breathed. I almost couldn't hold back the squeals, but I did. After all, that would be embarrassing.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd go this far." Claude mused, peering to see the cat like everyone else.

"Awww!" Elly gasped.

"Cats are great pets for vampires. Since we can pretty much understand each other in ways that humans and cats can't understand each other, they make the best friends for us." Rory explained. "Cats are usually skittish around humans, but are very friendly when it comes to vampires. It's obviously an unknown reason When I first saw her, I knew you two would get along great."

I tentatively reached into the box and touched her forehead. She mewled and pushed her cheek against me, already purring. I grinned and picked her up, cradling her to my chest. She was still tiny as hell, and fit perfectly into both my hands. I turned to Rory and hugged her as tightly as I could while not suffocating the kitten.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! I have to think of the best name for her!"

Rory smiled and nodded as she pulled back. "Why of course you're welcome dear. Now, let's all get to partying, what do you all say?"

Everyone agreed.

The whole time, the kitten remained on my shoulder, purring as if I were her favorite being in the whole wide world. I just hoped I was.

* * *

After the party, I hugged everyone goodbye, giving a handshake to Zackary, and then shut the door. I glanced at the clock, reading it was already about one in the morning. Elly and Tiffany had stayed behind with Rylan and Brent.

I walked into the living room where Alec and Cassy were finishing throwing away garbage. "Where are my friends?" I asked.

"Rylan was using Elly for more art, and Tiffany…well, we all know where she is." Cassy muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I just hope this time they're a bit more quiet." Alec added.

I crinkled my nose. "Okay, too much info."

Alec smirked and walked up to me, reaching a hand up to pet my kitten, whose name I had not yet thought of. She gladly accepted his hand and purred louder. "Aww, the first thing to actually like you!" I gasped sarcastically.

Alec snorted, moving his hand to my throat where I wore the necklace he bought me. I rarely took it off, only when it was to sleep or shower. "No, I think the first thing to like me was you."

"I'm not a thing." I reminded him. He smiled and kissed me softly.

"I still have a birthday gift for you. Head to your room," he murmured. I nodded once and swept past him to climb the staircase. When I reached my room, I quickly made my way to the bathroom and peeked in. Rory had also brought a litter box and a food and water dish for my cat, which I filled up with the needed supplies. Gingerly, I set my kitten down in front of her food dish, and she gladly dug in. Standing up, I looked in the mirror and brushed a hand through my hair.

Just what was Alec's' birthday present for me?

I walked back to my room and paused mid step through my doorway. Alec sat, shirtless, on the edge of my bed. My breath caught in my throat. "Still want the birthday gift?" he asked softly.

I walked the rest of the way into my room, shutting and locking the door behind me. "Does this mean we have to be quiet?" I asked.

"Only if you want." He stood and made his way to me, cupping my cheeks with his hands. At first, the kiss was soft like a feather, and then our lips went pliant against the others and turned passionate. My arms wrapped around his shoulders and he pulled me flat against him. I think I knew what the present was now.

My hands entangled themselves in his hair and our kiss deepened. This had always been as far as we'd gone. Now both of us wanted more. It was like a snake coiling in my lower stomach, and I was ready to pounce on Alec. But, that was a funny way of putting it.

My back hit the mattress of my bed without our lips parting, and his deft fingers worked on pulling my shirt up and over my head. I wasn't even sure when my bra came off, but oh well.

The room seemed to get twice as hot around us, pressing against our bared skin as if it were trying to suffocate us. Tough luck, we were immortals. I wanted to be one with him, body, soul and mind, and quickly.

It was obvious he was a bit old-fashioned, for when we finally undressed completely, he pulled the sheet over our bodies, balancing himself over me and kissing down my jaw.

"This shouldn't hurt even if you're a virgin." he mumbled in a sultry voice against my throat. I draped my arms over his shoulders, my fingers digging into his shoulder-blades, and kissed his ear.

"I wouldn't mind." I breathed. He latched his mouth onto my throat and softly nipped, his fangs grazing the surface. I moaned and leaned my head back, wrapping my legs around his hips. I felt him at my entrance, and I sucked a deep breath.

"I love you." He whispered into my ear and pushed inside of me. I let out a breathless gasp at the new feeling and moaned as he pulled out a bit and went back in.

I could feel his hot breath against my throat. Usually he didn't even have to breath, but I guess breathing heavily made it more…_erotic. _I blushed at the thought and closed my eyes, pushing every astray thought from my head as we moved together, my hips meeting his at each thrust.

His hands strayed to my breasts, kneading them and softly pinching as my fingernails dug into his back. Had I always been this sensitive? The pace went faster all of a sudden as my moans got a bit louder. Alec seemed generous to protect me from being embarrassed and kissed me deeply.

Now I just wondered what it would have been like to make love with him while I was a human. As I came closer to my climax, I felt my fangs elongate. Oh lord, I hope I wasn't getting hungry at a time like this. Instead of the painful feeling of hunger, I had the urge just to bite Alec. It was odd, but he seemed to be having the same problems, as I felt him press his fangs against my lips. He moved his mouth down past my jaw once more and to the juncture of my throat.

At the sudden swirl of white hot pleasure flooding through my body, I moaned and, without thinking, bit deep into his throat. I heard him make a noise, somewhere between a groan and a snarl, and I think it might have hurt. His throat muffled my cries, and then I felt the familiar feeling of him biting the same part Rylan had bit before.

Once more, only extremely beyond the pleasurable feeling than with Rylan, the fogginess of my mind came back, causing me to go dizzy and weak. I let go of Alec's' throat and gave one last, low moan, letting my head fall to the pillow as Alex drank from me.

Was this normal for vampires? Finally, before I blacked-out from my own lack of blood, Alec let go, panting, already reaching his own peak. He pulled back a bit to look me in the face, wiping his mouth free of blood.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, kissing my cheek.

"I…think so." I replied in a voice just below a whisper. I blinked a few times to overcome the dizziness.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself when you did it first." he muttered, pulling out of me and laying beside me. He wrapped me up in his arms and I gladly laid my head lazily against his chest.

"Yeah, was that normal or something? I had an urge." I murmured, tracing his chest with my finger in small circles.

"Usually. We older vampires can control it."

I closed my eyes, smiling. I honestly couldn't believe I had finally found the one I never wanted to leave. After a few minutes of silence, when our breathing slowed down and our hearts stopped racing, I said, "Alec?"

"Yes?" He responded after a moment, causing me to nearly think he'd fallen asleep.

"I love you too."

He chuckled, threading his fingers through my hair. "I was wondering when you were going to reply… if you ever were." he said sarcastically. I snorted.

"Of course. I was just too caught up in the moment."

"So I'm that good, eh?" he asked smugly.

I raised an eyebrow up at him. "I could do better."

"Wanna bet?" he smirked his evil smirk at me and made to turn us over, when suddenly we heard a scratching against my door.

I looked over at it. What in the world?

"Meowwww!" Came my kitten's voice. She scratched against the door some more. I let out a laugh and stood up, wrapping a sheet around me.

"Way to wreck the moment." I heard Alec mutter from the bed. I rolled my eyes and opened my door. The tiny furball bounded into my room and sat at my ankles, looking up at me expectantly.

I kneeled down and picked her up, cradling her to my chest. "You know what? I think I have a name for you." I told her as I shut my door and sat on the bed. Alec came up beside me and scratched her head softly.

"What did you have in mind?" Alec asked.

I smirked widely, holding the kitten up in front of my face and peering deep into her pretty blue eyes. "_Rebel_. I'm going to name her Rebel."

* * *

**A/N: Alright. ALL FINISHED. Sorry, it was an abrupt ending, but I ran out of story ideas, so I thought of a cute little ending that went great with the story. I hope you all enjoyed! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! Anyways, for my _Twisted _readers, I HAVE BEGAN THE LIAM LOVE STORY. IT'S CALLED _Marriage for Peace. Check it out. _**


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